Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim: The Great Reconciler?

Critics of the situation in Iraq always begin their sentences by noting the absence of formal political reconciliation by the Iraqi government. They note the ineffectiveness of the Iraqi parliament and the apparent powerlessness of Mr. Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s prime minister.

Looking at Iraq through a Western lens, with a focus on legislation passed, “summit” meetings concluded, and treaties signed, is a sure way of achieving self-deception. In perhaps the most dramatic shift inside Iraq since the days of Saddam’s reign, the most important political power in the country is no longer held by men with formal posts in the government. Observers thus need to look elsewhere to see what is actually happening.

Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Party (SIIC), Iraq’s largest and best organized Shi’ite party (and militia), seems to be pursuing his idea of political reconciliation on two crucial fronts. Although he holds no post in the government, Mr. al-Hakim is in a position to accomplish more than Prime Minister al-Maliki or his ministers can.

First, there is reconciliation among the Shi’ites, namely between SIIC and Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi forces. The Associated Press reports:

Representatives of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr met Thursday with officials from his chief rival's party in an effort to cement a tenuous peace agreement the two signed in October after violent clashes between their followers.

It was at least the second formal overture al-Sadr has made to Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim and his Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the largest Shiite political party, in less than a week.

Peace between the two — who each control powerful militias — is seen as key to preventing the outbreak of widespread fighting in oil-rich southern Iraq, where the British military recently handed over responsibility for security to Iraq's government in Basra, the last province it controlled.

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A delegation from al-Sadr's office in Kufa, led by Sheik Muhanned al-Gharrawi, met with the Dhi Qar provincial governor Aziz Kadhim Alwan, a member of al-Hakim's party, and other local officials in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. In the past, al-Sadr followers have had violent clashes with the governor's guards.

"The province should live in peace and security without armed violence and disorder," Alwan said after the meeting. Al-Gharrawi said the talks were meant to "end political and military" violence in the province and "to protect citizens' lives."

Last August, al-Sadr overplayed his hand, apparently attempting something of a putsch against SIIC-controlled Karbala during a religious festival. A bloody street battle ensued that seemed to smear al-Sadr’s reputation among the Shia. Since then, al-Sadr has drawn back from political violence, both against the Americans and against his Shi’ite rivals. With great religious, cultural, and economic stakes up for grabs between the two Shi’ite leaders, one should not expect a smooth path to intra-Shi’ite peace. Yet conditions between al-Hakim and al-Sadr have never been better.

On another front, Mr. al-Hakim may also be advancing political reconciliation. The Shi’ite leader appears to be increasingly comfortable with the many Sunni tribal “Awakening” organizations, which the Americans have so successfully promoted to suppress al Qaeda and other radicals inside Iraq. The New York Times recently reported on this:

The leader of Iraq’s most influential Shiite party offered surprisingly conciliatory remarks on Thursday about the former insurgents and other Sunnis who have banded together into militias to work with American forces, stating that the groups had helped improve security and should be continued.

In a speech in Najaf, the Shiite holy city, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the party that has long been the backbone of the main Shiite political alliance, said a major reason for recent security improvements was not merely a dependence on official security forces but also a reliance on tribal groups and local councils.

“We still believe in continuing this strategy,” said Mr. Hakim, the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.

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Mr. Hakim’s remarks on Thursday referred to Sunni groups, known as Awakening Councils, which emerged in 2006 in Sunni-dominated western Iraq, and spread to mixed Sunni-Shiite areas around Baghdad last year.

The American-backed groups, with nearly 80,000 members, are credited with routing Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and other extremist militants from many areas and helping to sharply reduce American deaths. Many militia members used to attack American troops, before deciding to join forces with them.

Perhaps Mr. al-Hakim’s growing acceptance of the Awakening organizations is merely a bow to reality. The Americans love their Sunni partners, indeed the Sunni tribal movements are largely the way out of Iraq for the American army. Mr. al-Hakim, also on friendly terms with the American, must know this. For him, it is a matter of the accepting the armed Sunni tribes for the time being, while formulating a strategy to cope with them in the long-term, presumably after the Americans are largely gone.


For now, Mr. al-Hakim seems to be promoting cooperation with both his Shi’ite and Sunni rivals. Although not an act of the Iraqi parliament, if successful, Mr. al-Hakim’s efforts will be much more important.