Iraqi Cabinet Roster Won’t Be Complete

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Nouri Maliki said Friday that he would present his Cabinet to parliament today, but he acknowledged that it would not include appointees for the key ministries that oversee the military and police.

Sunni Arab politicians, who are a minority in the 275-member parliament, had threatened earlier Friday to withhold their votes for at least some of the ministers Maliki is expected to name. Maliki, a Shiite, responded by saying he would present his government but withhold his choices for Defense and Interior ministers.

A Maliki spokesman predicted the omission would lead to some dissent but not enough to keep the Council of Representatives from approving more than 30 other Cabinet members, two days ahead of a constitutional deadline for the formation of a government.

The political developments were followed by another burst of violence. Early this morning, a car bomb exploded in the capital’s Sadr City neighborhood, killing at least 20 laborers who were eating breakfast. Doctors at Sadr Hospital said 45 people were injured.

Maliki said Friday that he would name the heads of the remaining two ministries as soon as possible and that the jobs would go to candidates “who will be well-known as independents -- honest, not loyal to any militia or the equivalent.”

But late into the evening Friday, Sunni parties were refusing to say whether they would agree to that arrangement. They complained not only about the Defense and Interior spots but also about the fact that out of as many as 36 ministry appointments, they would receive only three or four.

“This is a very fluid situation,” said one leader allied with the main Sunni bloc, who asked not to be named because he said he feared reprisal. “I would like to be optimistic, but I am not one of those self-deluding people.”

The leaders of several Sunni factions huddled Friday to plan their next step. One leader said they probably would oppose the formation of a government that did not include a defense minister, a position the Sunnis expect to hold. Another Sunni said he would support the Maliki government. By late Friday, the top leaders were giving curt replies, or refusing to answer their phones.

Iraqi and U.S. leaders have depicted the appointment of the new government as crucial, saying it will pave the way for self-rule, which they hope will begin to quell the bombings and assassinations that have become routine in parts of the country.

A failure to bring Sunni leaders into the ruling coalition could spell trouble. Members of the Muslim sect held the reins of power during the Saddam Hussein era and are believed to lead the insurgency that has killed thousands of Iraqis and U.S. military personnel.

Hussein’s overthrow in the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003 cleared the way for elections last December that gave Shiite Muslims a plurality of the seats in the new parliament. But the newly empowered Shiite parties have been struggling to please other groups in order to name a Cabinet that will win parliament’s approval.

The constitution sets Monday, 30 days after Maliki’s appointment, as the deadline for forming a government. If Maliki cannot win approval of his nominations today, he could be given more time -- or another candidate could be named to try to form a government satisfactory to parliament.

Despite the eleventh-hour contretemps, some analysts remained hopeful that an accord would enable all groups to support the government.

“I feel that everyone is willing to give up something of what they want to get to the goal of forming a government,” said Hassan Bazaz, a political scientist at Baghdad University.

Around Baghdad on Friday, Iraqis said they hoped their leaders would finally begin to bring some stability.

“I’m anxious to see a new government and the inauguration” of the prime minister, said Uday Hamza, 26, owner of a glass and window repair shop. “Iraqis like me are waiting to see a change in our lives. We want better services and a real decent life.”

But the months of waiting for a government -- after three years of nearly constant violence -- have left many Iraqis deeply skeptical. Many said they were sick of the endless discussions of balancing the government based on ethnic and religious loyalties. They instead hope for simple competence.

“If they pick people who have less know-how or experience or integrity, then people are going to think it’s more of a party government than a capable government,” said Wamidh Nadhmi, another Baghdad University political scientist.

Bazaz said, “I think many are in a mosque right now, praying and hoping for a solution to the problem that we have.”

About 6:50 a.m. today, the car bomb in Sadr City detonated. Witnesses said the street was spattered with blood and body parts, and nearby shops were littered with shattered glass.

An attack on a U.S. military post in Fallouja killed two Iraqi policemen Friday, authorities said. Two bodies were found in the northern city of Kirkuk; authorities said one might be that of an oil company worker who had been kidnapped.

A gunfight between Iraqi police and insurgents killed five civilians and wounded eight in a western Baghdad neighborhood, police said.

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Times staff writers Solomon Moore, Shamil Aziz, Suhail Ahmad and Caesar Ahmed contributed to this report. Wire services were used in compiling it.