Abdel Aziz al-Hakim's death

Gregg Carlstrom | August 27, 2009 10:15 AM | 0 | recommend (0) |   |      

Forgot to mention this yesterday, but Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, the founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, died from lung cancer in an Iranian hospital at the age of 60.

Abdel Aziz al-Hakim

Al-Sharq al-Awsat, Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera all have details about his life and death. His son Ammar will reportedly take over (عربي) the party for the time being.

Juan Cole, writing in Salon, offers some thoughts about what al-Hakim's death means for Iraqi politics.

Important parliamentary elections are scheduled for January, and al-Hakim is not there to lead his own coalition to the polls. His son Ammar is still inexperienced and relatively young. The foremost figure in ISCI outside the al-Hakim family is probably Iraqi vice president Adil Abdul Mahdi, who is widely viewed as a pragmatist rather than a party activist.

Remember, the party announced earlier this week that it wants to align with the Sadrist movement in the January election.

For updates throughout the day, follow us on Twitter, Facebook or RSS!

Categories: Iraq, Politics, Regional News

Tags: Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq

No Comments

Post a Comment

Tuesday morning roundup

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to address the U.N. General Assembly when it meets in New York later this month.

Ammar al-Hakim: Iraqiyya not a Ba'athist bloc

Second, Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, said he wants to see Iraqiyya included in the next government, and criticized those who have called Iraqiyya members Ba'athists.

B'Tselem: Settlements occupy 42 percent of West Bank

Ben-Eliezer makes "secret trip" to Turkey: Israeli TV

CENTCOM talking sense on Hamas and Hizballah

Al-Akhbar: Our weekly brief

Peace Processing

Talking about direct talks: Netanyahu returns to the White House

Gregg Carlstrom | July 6, 2010 4:00 AM | 0 | recommend (0)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivering a statement in Jerusalem on July 1, 2010. (Photo: AFP)
US president Barack Obama will use a White House meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for an extended West Bank settlement freeze. If Netanyahu doesn't offer one - and the domestic politics are quite difficult for him - it's hard to see any possibility of direct talks with the Palestinian Authority later this year.

The Afghan Surge

Obama's southern strategy

Gregg Carlstrom | June 24, 2010 6:09 AM | 1 | recommend (0)
Gen. David Petraeus testifying on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Reuters)
The president's decision to nominate Gen. David Petraeus as the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan won't mean a major change in strategy. But there are mounting reasons for pessimism about current policy, particularly the relentless focus on southern Afghanistan. The deployment of tens of thousands of additional troops to Kandahar and Helmand serves few NATO objectives.

Freedom Flotilla Killings

Anticlimax: How much did the flotilla raid really change regional politics?

Gregg Carlstrom | June 17, 2010 7:35 AM | 4 | recommend (2)
A demonstration in London against the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound flotilla. (Photo: AFP)
It has accelerated Israel's isolation from several of its neighbors and allies; it has sharpened divisions within Turkish domestic politics; it has deepened perceptions that the Obama administration as too close to Israel. And it seems to have had a remarkably minor impact on Palestinian domestic politics.

Bloggers

The "MSM"