Iraq’s political crisis deepens as PM, President trade charges

While Iraq's government forces continued to battle Sunni militants in the country's north and west with the help of US airstrikes on Sunday, the country's parallel political crisis deepened, as embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki resisted calls to step down and accused new president Fouad Massoum of violating Iraq's constitution.

In a nationally televised speech on Sunday evening, al-Maliki said he would file a legal complaint against Massoum for neglecting to name a prime minister from Maliki's Shiite-dominated political group, which won the most seats in April's election.

As Maliki's speech was being broadcast, reports said that security forces had been deployed in unusually large numbers across Baghdad. The soldiers were particularly prominent in the so-called Green Zone, which includes the prime minister's home as well as the parliament building, as well as crucial government offices and many embassies.

Al-Maliki is seeking a third term as prime minister, but the latest crisis has prompted even his closest allies to call for his resignation. A parliament session scheduled for Monday to discuss the election and who might lead the next Iraqi government was postponed until 19 August.

Prime Minister al-Maliki is being urged to remove himself from consideration for a third term so that an alternate candidate from his National Alliance could be chosen by the president.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Massoum has given the National Alliance a deadline of 3 pm local time today to choose a new candidate, or he would name al-Maliki for a third term.

Al-Maliki, speaking on Iraqi TV for the first time since US forces began launching airstrikes and humanitarian airdrops in Iraq last week, said the security situation will only worsen as a result of Massoum's actions.

"This attitude represents a coup on the constitution and the political process in a country that is governed by a democratic and federal system," al-Maliki said. "The deliberate violation of the constitution by the president will have grave consequences on the unity, the sovereignty, and the independence of Iraq.''

The political infighting could hamper efforts to stem advances by the Islamic State, the militant group formerly known as ISIS, who have seized a large swath of northern and western Iraq in recent weeks.

 President Barack Obama warned Americans on Saturday that the new campaign to bring security in Iraq requires military and political changes and "is going to be a long-term project."