What al-Maliki's return would mean for Iraq and the region

"By backing al-Maliki, Washington paved the way for the chaos and instability it sought to avert. During his first two terms, al-Maliki established a governance template that deliberately dismantled the post-2003 settlement's vision of inclusive politics. He pursued policies of deliberate exclusion of the Sunni population on the political and social levels under the guise of de-Baathification. While originally intended to remove Saddam Hussein's loyalists, the process was weaponised by al-Maliki as a sectarian tool."

"Washington did so in the name of stability and trust, despite the early red flags. By November 2006, just six months after al-Maliki came to power, US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley was already raising concerns about his ability to rein in violence against the Sunni population. The decision by the Bush administration to continue its support for the prime minister reflects its own record of misguided policies."

Nouri al-Maliki's expected third term threatens to escalate sectarian politics and reverse inclusive post-2003 state-building. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's withdrawal cleared the path for al-Maliki amid post-election negotiations. Al-Maliki's earlier governance dismantled the post-2003 settlement's vision by excluding Sunnis politically and socially through de-Baathification. The Bush administration supported al-Maliki in 2006 despite early warnings, and US officials later worried about his inability to curb violence against Sunnis. Al-Maliki's past policies contributed to instability that helped produce the conditions for ISIL's 2014 rise. He weaponised de-Baathification to ban parties and purge opponents, deepening sectarian divides and weakening national cohesion.

Read at www.aljazeera.com