Time has proven that the United Iraqi Alliance, which includes several Shiite groups, is a coalition of conflicting factions united only by their sectarian affiliation. This coalition is one of the main reasons for the current Iraqi political crisis, which is raging because of the disagreement between its parties and leaders over the prime minister’s position. If the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) backs Adil Abdul Hadi, then the Al-Dawah Party and Al-Sadr group would oppose this nomination, and if these groups backed Ibrahim Jaafari, then SCIRI would attempt to foil this nomination. This is strange. The Alliance has the largest parliamentary bloc, but its problem is that it includes conflicting bodies that prevent decisions from being made. Consequently, other political forces and Iraqis civilians must pay the price for these destructive conflicts within the Alliance, and the political process has been delayed for over four months since the election results were announced.

The continuation of the present situation is dangerous for everybody. Either the parties should agree to repeat the elections and consequently, redraw the map of political alliances, or the United Iraqi Alliance should agree on one person. Another option is to establish a coalition of all the parties without the Alliance or to decide to call for the election of a prime minister via a secret ballot box in the National Assembly, which could result in a major surprise that would reveal the extent of contradictions within the United Iraqi Alliance. Another possibility is to agree to form a government of technocrats away from members of Iraqi party forces.

The continuation of the current situation is providing a free service to terrorism. The absence of the state and authority and the situation of a political vacuum has allowed for all this chaos. The lack of security control is leading to massacres and sectarian violence. The United Iraqi Alliance shoulders the moral and political responsibility for this situation. Neither US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice nor British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw can solve any problems if the Iraqis do not agree on a solution. Iraqi citizens will not forgive their politicians for their indifferent and irresponsible behavior. The political forces, led by the United Iraqi Alliance, will pay the price for this negligent and uncivilized behavior. People are dying on the streets and others are in of need food and medicine while politicians are fighting over seats. This is a difficult and frustrating equation.