Iraqi prime minister answers irate lawmakers on security

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki on Thursday emerged virtually unscathed from a parliament session called over this week’s car bombings in the capital and a series of explosions since August that have caused lawmakers to publicly question his handling of the security situation in Iraq.

As Maliki parried with lawmakers for nearly six hours, the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group for insurgents that includes Al Qaeda in Iraq, claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s bombings, which killed 127 people.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived in Baghdad on Thursday in an unannounced visit, meeting with Iraqi officials and U.S. military commanders in the aftermath of the attack and the announcement that national elections will be held March 7.

In the hours after the explosions Tuesday, politicians skewered Maliki’s government and the performance of security commanders. The prime minister was criticized for not changing the commanders after two bombings in August and October that killed more than 250 people. Lawmakers insisted on a thorough accounting for all three attacks.

Before his appearance in parliament, Maliki dismissed his Baghdad security commander, a move that the prime minister’s supporters had talked about privately since the attack in October.

Those who attended the parliament session said Maliki warned that an increase in violence was expected before the elections.

“As soon as the elections are done, these terrorist attacks will be over,” said lawmaker Haidar Abadi, a member of Maliki’s Islamic Dawa Party.

Maliki took lawmakers to task, saying they had failed to work for the common interest on security matters such as approving a replacement for the national intelligence chief who left the post in August.

Lawmakers said Maliki described a contentious environment in which any security decision could be derided for political motivations.

“He said if I arrest [Osama] bin Laden, someone will say he is a good holy warrior,” said Samira Mussawi, who is running in the next election on Maliki’s slate.

Maliki also urged lawmakers to give their support to the Iraqi army and police, while offering to purge the security forces of those connected to political movements, including his own, Mussawi told The Times.

Interior Minister Jawad Bolani, whose political ambitions have been a source of tension with Maliki, came up for criticism, Abadi said. Some have blamed Bolani’s rivalry with Maliki for dulling his ministry’s effectiveness. Maliki told lawmakers that if they want Bolani removed they should pass a motion of no confidence.

Bolani has refused an invitation from parliament to discuss the attacks, saying that he will appear only if the session is open to the public. On Thursday, Bolani said he had not received a formal request and delighted in watching a graduation ceremony for Iraqi national police.

Asked whether he would resign if the government demanded, Bolani fell silent and then laughed.

Later, he said, “We implemented all the [country’s] security gains without the resignation of any officers, minister or the prime minister. Let the political arena of Iraq be based on programs, not political disputes that may hurt everybody, set us back and abolish all of our accomplishments.”

The senior U.S. military commander overseeing training of Iraqi security forces also warned against massive dismissals of security commanders because of the attacks.

“Wholesale changing of commanders is not what we need right now,” said Army Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero.

ned.parker@latimes.com

Salman is a Times staff writer. Times staff writers Caesar Ahmed and Usama Redha contributed to this report.