New Iraq PM fails to fill cabinet

[MaineDem]

Iraq's new prime minister has failed to put together a complete cabinet in time for ministers' swearing-in on Tuesday.

Seven posts in Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari's government - including the defence and oil ministries - remain empty amid partisan haggling.

The power broker for the minority Sunni community, outgoing President Ghazi al-Yawer, stayed away from the event.

Mr Jaafari must bring credible Sunnis into his government to undercut the insurgency, the BBC's Jim Muir says.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4509961.stm

[Jack Rabbit]

1. More on the Iraqi government crisis from the BBC

From the BBC Online
Dated Tuesday May 3

Sunni question dogs new Iraqi cabinet
By Jim Muir
BBC News, Baghdad

Iraq's first elected government in modern times, put together by new Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, has been sworn in.

Despite a last minute flurry of negotiations, right up to the swearing in ceremony, some key posts in the government are still vacant - most notably the oil and defence ministries.

The unwieldy 37-member cabinet took nearly three months to assemble. Yet the key issue of how to represent the country's Sunni Muslim community remains unresolved.

Amounting to something like 20% of the population, the Sunnis largely boycotted the elections, so they have only 17 deputies in the new 275-member parliament.

Read more.