Is there a US-backed coup in the works or is it just a case of the usual cloak and dagger, asks Saif Nasrawi The recent revelation that the US has spied extensively during the last two years on Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, his staff and other government officials did not surprise those Iraqis and Arabs who are familiar with American tactics in the Middle East. However, what might turn out to be interesting is the timing of such a "release" while both sides engage in a thorough, if not contradictory, restructuring of their strategies. In his recently published book, The War Within: A Secret White House History, 2006-2008, Robert Woodward quotes multiple sources indicating that different US intelligence agencies carried out their spying on Al-Maliki and his inner circle in order to acquire inside information about the highest levels of the Iraqi decision-making process. "We know everything he says," the Washington veteran journalist cites one source who declined to speak on the record because of the highly sensitive nature of the subject. Another anonymous source told Woodward that sources gave senior US officials a heads-up on positions, plans, manoeuvres and secret actions of the Iraqi government. The Iraqi government reacted furiously Friday to Woodward's allegations, warning that future ties with the United States could be in jeopardy if the report were true. Iraqi government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh said Baghdad will raise the allegations with the US and ask for an explanation. But if true, he warned, it shows a lack of trust. "It reflects also that institutions in the US are used to spying on their friends and their enemies in the same way," Al-Dabbagh said in a statement. "If it is true, it casts a shadow on future relations with such institutions," Al-Dabbagh added, referring to the CIA and other US intelligence agencies. In Washington, the White House declined to directly comment on the allegations. Instead, spokeswoman Dana Perino said official channels of communication between the two governments happen daily. "We have a good idea of what Prime Minister Al-Maliki is thinking because he tells us, very frankly and very candidly, as often as he can," Perino said. Iraqi lawmakers and officials seemed more calculated and less distressed about the alleged espionage. "The government needs to confirm the validity of the report before stating its position," Saddik Al-Rukabi, Al-Maliki's political advisor, said Saturday. Osama Al-Najafi, an independent Shia lawmaker, went further to suggest that everybody in Iraq knew about the surveillance. "US troops are not subject to Iraqi law. They control everything in Iraq. They control security and all kinds of communications, wireless or not. Almost all senior Iraqi politicians move under their direct security protection. If this is not spying, then what is it exactly?" he wondered Sunday during an interview with the London- based daily Al-Hayat. As with many narratives, its missing and unstated elements could be the most significant. Woodward's book speaks very little about the nature of US surveillance on Al-Maliki's government, and completely ignores the information obtained and how far it has been useful to President Bush's planning on Iraq in regards to political and security stability. The report also emerged as the two governments are in delicate negotiations over the future of American troops in Iraq. Those talks have already extended past their 31 July deadline and have drawn sharp criticism from Iraqis who want an end to the US presence. The book, a detailed insider look on the controversies surrounding the US administration's decision to send an extra 30,000 US troops to Iraq in 2007, comes immediately prior to a scheduled briefing to be presented by the US commander in Iraq General David Petraeus to Congress this month, where he is expected to announce a reduction of troops by next February. He will also stress that the security gains would not be sustained without integrating the Sunni tribal fighters, known as the Awakening Councils, into the Iraqi army. Iraqi lawmakers and media took advantage of Woodward's allegations to step up pressure on the government to hold out for the most favourable terms before signing a deal. One lawmaker from the largest Shia bloc even warned that the allegations could influence security agreement talks. If true, it could "reflect negatively on the current negotiations on the agreement," said Abbas Al-Bayati of the United Iraqi Alliance. The US-Iraqi security pact will determine the future status of the US military in Iraq after the current UN mandate expires at the end of the year. Officials from both sides have said a draft agreement would see American troops leave Iraqi cities as soon as 30 June. But there are several sticking points between the two sides. Iraqis want the US to commit to withdrawing all forces out by the end of 2011. Bush, though, has long resisted a timetable for pulling troops out of Iraq. Just after the spying allegations surfaced, Iraqi media began to ignite fears about a "potential" US-backed military coup to overthrow Al-Maliki's government. On Sunday, the editor-in-chief of the independent daily Addustour, Bassim Al-Sheikh, cited Iraqi vice-president, Adel Abdul-Mahdi suggesting that, "Baghdad is aware of a secret plot to oust the current government through a military coup." He added that senior Iraqi officials are worried about the growing influence of the Iraqi army with the absence of any tangible guarantees to prevent a possible coup. "With the Americans growing more frustrated about the prospects of the political process in Iraq, they might overlook a military coup that promises to stabilise Iraq and broaden the political map," he clarified. US officials have recently expressed concerns about the continuing disputes over a draft local election law to organise the provincial elections scheduled to take place across Iraq in October. In July Kurdish leaders strongly rejected a draft local election law which granted a 32 per cent equal representation in Kirkuk's governing bodies for Kurds, Arabs and Turkomen, while the remaining four per cent of the city's local councils will go to the Christian minority. The Kurds argued that both Sunni and Shia Arabs wanted to undermine their historical rights to annex the oil rich city to Kurdistan.
