Tag: news

It appears Russia ‘retaliation’ continues for the ‘costs’ imposed by the West on Putin and his people (Russia +28%, S&P +6% since sanctions). Putin looks set to take on both EU and US as RT reports that Russian MPs are preparing a bill to ban the use of US consulting companies in Russia; and then Ukraine’s Naftogaz says Russia’s Gazprom seeks to end its accord on daily gas transit – a move which could threaten EU gas supplies. The US put its best man forward to respond and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew thretatened “US is ready to act” on Russia if Ukraine escalates…

 

Russia retaliation #1:

MP Yevgeniy Fyodorov of the United Russia party is preparing a bill that would ban state-owned companies from using services of American consulting firms, Russia Today reports.

Russia retaliation #2:

• *UKRAINE: GAZPROM SEEKS TO END ACCORD ON DAILY TRANSIT BALANCE
• *NAFTOGAZ SAYS GAZPROM MOVE MAY THREATEN EU GAS TRANSIT
• *NAFTOGAZ: GAZPROM TO END ACCORD ON DAILY BALANCING JUNE 23

Jack lew warns…

• *U.S. WOULD BE READY TO SEEK FURTHER RUSSIA SANCTIONS, LEW SAYS
• *U.S. READY TO ACT ON RUSSIA IF UKRAINE ESCALATES, LEW SAYS

But we suspect Russia is not quaking…

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1pmxAxe Tyler Durden

Argentina’s attempt to work around SCOTUS decision in favor of the ‘holdouts’ was rejected (under anti-evasion orders) last night leaving Argentina no alternative but to threaten to default on its debt. The government called it “impossible” to pay bond service due on June 30, because payment to holders of restructured bonds could not be made unless the ‘holdouts’ were paid $1.33 billion at the same time (and Argentina’s economy minister argues could be up to $15 bn) which the distressed country clearly does not have. For the first time in 12 years, Argentina has agreed to negotiate with the ‘holdouts’ (has renegged on that negotiation) who refused to participate in two restructurings that followed Argentina’s 2002 default but it seems increasingly likely that an even of default looms for Argentina.

 

Via Reuters,

Buenos Aires is locked in a 12-year legal fight with creditors who refused to participate in two restructurings that followed Argentina’s 2002 default on $100 billion in bonds.

 

In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday President Cristina Fernandez said Argentina was the victim of “extortion” by the holdouts, but that she was still open to negotiations and insisted she would continue to pay the more than 90 percent of creditors who accepted the restructuring terms.

 

…

 

“The lifting of the stay by the Second Circuit makes it impossible to make the next payment on restructured debt in New York, and shows a complete lack of willingness to negotiate under conditions different from those dictated by Judge Griesa,” a statement from the Argentine economy ministry said late on Wednesday.

 

Talks are nevertheless expected between the two sides in New York next week.

 

The holdout creditors are led by NML Capital Ltd., a division of billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp., and Aurelius Capital Management, chaired by Mark Brodsky, who warned that next week’s negotiations could prove to be a “charade”.

 

…

 

“Pari Passu (equal treatment) requirements impede Argentina from making the June 30 coupon payment to the holders of restructured bonds unless, at the same time, it pays all that is being demanded by the vulture funds, which could be up to $15 billion in total,” the economy ministry said.

So Argentina is willing to negotiate, but no one is buying it…

“Argentina’s lawyer has informed the court that unidentified government officials will come to New York on an unidentified day next week to discuss settlement after years of rebuffing settlement overtures,” said Aurelius’ Chairman Mark Brodsky.

 

“I have learned not to rely on any assurance Argentina’s counsel provide to our courts. I expect a charade, but I hope to be proven wrong,” he added.

And just minutes after we posted this… Argentina rebuffs…

• “There’s no Argentine mission or committee going to New York,” Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich tells reporters in Buenos Aires.
• *ARGENTINA CABINET CHIEF JORGE CAPITANICH SPEAKS IN BUENOS AIRES
• *ARGENTINA ISN’T GOING TO NEW YORK TO NEGOTIATE: CAPITANICH
• *HOLDOUTS CAN ONLY BE OFFERED SAME TERMS AS DEBT SWAP:CAPITANICH

The 2033 ARG bonds dropped notably after yesterday’s bounce to trade at 73.375.

As Acting-Man’s Pater Tenebrarum concludes,

One good thing may come from the victory of the ‘hold-outs’: the government will find it difficult to rack up more debt. Some people quoted by Reuters bemoan that the situation will delay Argentina’s return to international capital markets, but Argentina’s citizens should probably be relieved to hear it. On the other hand, it may well mean that even more money printing is in store, so we cannot be entirely certain whether the news is actually good or bad in that sense.

 

One thing is certain though: the economic policies pursued in the country over the past century have consistently failed. No end to this failure is in sight as of yet. The country doesn’t need people specializing in Keynes and Marx, it needs a dose of Mises and Hayek.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1uFNYbD Tyler Durden

Argentina’s attempt to work around SCOTUS decision in favor of the ‘holdouts’ was rejected (under anti-evasion orders) last night leaving Argentina no alternative but to threaten to default on its debt. The government called it “impossible” to pay bond service due on June 30, because payment to holders of restructured bonds could not be made unless the ‘holdouts’ were paid $1.33 billion at the same time (and Argentina’s economy minister argues could be up to $15 bn) which the distressed country clearly does not have. For the first time in 12 years, Argentina has agreed to negotiate with the ‘holdouts’ (has renegged on that negotiation) who refused to participate in two restructurings that followed Argentina’s 2002 default but it seems increasingly likely that an even of default looms for Argentina.

 

Via Reuters,

Buenos Aires is locked in a 12-year legal fight with creditors who refused to participate in two restructurings that followed Argentina’s 2002 default on $100 billion in bonds.

 

In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday President Cristina Fernandez said Argentina was the victim of “extortion” by the holdouts, but that she was still open to negotiations and insisted she would continue to pay the more than 90 percent of creditors who accepted the restructuring terms.

 

…

 

“The lifting of the stay by the Second Circuit makes it impossible to make the next payment on restructured debt in New York, and shows a complete lack of willingness to negotiate under conditions different from those dictated by Judge Griesa,” a statement from the Argentine economy ministry said late on Wednesday.

 

Talks are nevertheless expected between the two sides in New York next week.

 

The holdout creditors are led by NML Capital Ltd., a division of billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp., and Aurelius Capital Management, chaired by Mark Brodsky, who warned that next week’s negotiations could prove to be a “charade”.

 

…

 

“Pari Passu (equal treatment) requirements impede Argentina from making the June 30 coupon payment to the holders of restructured bonds unless, at the same time, it pays all that is being demanded by the vulture funds, which could be up to $15 billion in total,” the economy ministry said.

So Argentina is willing to negotiate, but no one is buying it…

“Argentina’s lawyer has informed the court that unidentified government officials will come to New York on an unidentified day next week to discuss settlement after years of rebuffing settlement overtures,” said Aurelius’ Chairman Mark Brodsky.

 

“I have learned not to rely on any assurance Argentina’s counsel provide to our courts. I expect a charade, but I hope to be proven wrong,” he added.

And just minutes after we posted this… Argentina rebuffs…

• “There’s no Argentine mission or committee going to New York,” Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich tells reporters in Buenos Aires.
• *ARGENTINA CABINET CHIEF JORGE CAPITANICH SPEAKS IN BUENOS AIRES
• *ARGENTINA ISN’T GOING TO NEW YORK TO NEGOTIATE: CAPITANICH
• *HOLDOUTS CAN ONLY BE OFFERED SAME TERMS AS DEBT SWAP:CAPITANICH

The 2033 ARG bonds dropped notably after yesterday’s bounce to trade at 73.375.

As Acting-Man’s Pater Tenebrarum concludes,

One good thing may come from the victory of the ‘hold-outs’: the government will find it difficult to rack up more debt. Some people quoted by Reuters bemoan that the situation will delay Argentina’s return to international capital markets, but Argentina’s citizens should probably be relieved to hear it. On the other hand, it may well mean that even more money printing is in store, so we cannot be entirely certain whether the news is actually good or bad in that sense.

 

One thing is certain though: the economic policies pursued in the country over the past century have consistently failed. No end to this failure is in sight as of yet. The country doesn’t need people specializing in Keynes and Marx, it needs a dose of Mises and Hayek.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1uFNYbD Tyler Durden

It took all of “several seconds”, in the NYT’s own words, for the latest proposal for a ceasefire, issued by Ukraine’s new president Petro Poroshenko, to be “rejected.”

Here is how the NYT framed it, and why the truce proposal is seen as a “lose-lose” idea from the perspective of the rebels: “After Ukraine’s new president, Petro O. Poroshenko, told reporters in Kiev on Wednesday that he might soon order a temporary, unilateral cease-fire as part of a broader 14-point peace plan, it took all of several seconds for pro-Russian militants to rule it out.”

“I am a condemned man,” said a stick-thin fighter who, like many others here, identified himself only by an alias, Tarik, for security reasons. Sipping tea in the gloom of the lobby of Donetsk’s rebel-occupied administration building on Wednesday afternoon, he patted the magazine of the automatic rifle slung across his chest.

 

Any cease-fire would certainly be violated by the Ukrainian Army, he said, adding that he and other pro-Russian separatists would be arrested the minute the government had the opportunity.

 

“What peace can they possibly offer me?” he asked. “If they want peace, then they can leave.”

That’s the big picture.

The details of the latest fighting, which broke out earlier this morning, come from Reuters :

Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists were locked in fierce fighting in the east of Ukraine on Thursday after rebels rejected a call to lay down their arms in line with a peace plan proposed by President Petro Poroshenko, government forces said. Heavy fighting broke out at around 4 a.m. near the town of Krasny Liman, which itself has been under government control since early this month.

 

“We issued an ultimatum to the terrorists overnight to surrender their weapons. We guarantee their safety and investigation in line with Ukrainian law … They refused,” said government forces spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov.

 

“Now we are trying to narrow the encirclement. They are trying to break out,” Seleznyov said.

Ironically, the more a truce is trumpeted up, the worse the fighting gets: “Up to 4,000 separatist fighters could be involved in Thursday’s fighting near Krasny Liman, and armored vehicles and possibly tanks were being used by both sides, the military source said. “There’s a major battle going on which exceeds in terms of force and scale anything there has been up to now,” a military source said.“

Olesya, a woman in the village of Yampil near Krasny Liman, said Ukrainian forces had entered the village in armored vehicles bearing the Ukrainian flag.

“There’s been no shooting. We residents went out into the street to watch the column – and then went back to hide in our houses again,” she said by telephone from her house where she was with her husband and five-year-old daughter.

“But there was fighting all night. Mines were flying over our heads. Planes flew over and we could hear heavy weapons. It’s awful what is going on here,” she said.

Finally, the separatists fighters, realizing they only have to lose should they put down their arms, have no choice but to continue fighting, have “demanded that the Ukrainian military leave the region, called Donbass, while others wanted a war tribunal for Ukraine’s newly elected leaders. Most said they wanted the restoration of “stability,” the precise definition of which remained elusive.”

“Maybe there was a way back when this all just started, when the people were out here with the flags to make their point, and before the killing,” said Denis, a separatist fighter from Makeyevka, a depressed industrial town outside of Donetsk, when asked how and when the conflict might be resolved.

 

Another fighter jumped in helpfully. “The Third World War,” he said to nods of assent.

So much for a detente which as we explained yesterday, even Putin is now working to promote. Sadly, as Denis summarized, any chance of a real truce is long gone as the time for diplomacy has passed. What remains will be a drawn out, mini civil war which will mark the lives of the citizens in the Donbas for a long time. The only winners now are those who seek continued instability in the region.

As for the general public, their focus on Ukraine has long since passed. Now, it is the turn of Iraq’s 15 minutes of infamy to distract from whatever key events are quietly taking place behind the scenes.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1lIYvNV Tyler Durden

It took all of “several seconds”, in the NYT’s own words, for the latest proposal for a ceasefire, issued by Ukraine’s new president Petro Poroshenko, to be “rejected.”

Here is how the NYT framed it, and why the truce proposal is seen as a “lose-lose” idea from the perspective of the rebels: “After Ukraine’s new president, Petro O. Poroshenko, told reporters in Kiev on Wednesday that he might soon order a temporary, unilateral cease-fire as part of a broader 14-point peace plan, it took all of several seconds for pro-Russian militants to rule it out.”

“I am a condemned man,” said a stick-thin fighter who, like many others here, identified himself only by an alias, Tarik, for security reasons. Sipping tea in the gloom of the lobby of Donetsk’s rebel-occupied administration building on Wednesday afternoon, he patted the magazine of the automatic rifle slung across his chest.

 

Any cease-fire would certainly be violated by the Ukrainian Army, he said, adding that he and other pro-Russian separatists would be arrested the minute the government had the opportunity.

 

“What peace can they possibly offer me?” he asked. “If they want peace, then they can leave.”

That’s the big picture.

The details of the latest fighting, which broke out earlier this morning, come from Reuters :

Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists were locked in fierce fighting in the east of Ukraine on Thursday after rebels rejected a call to lay down their arms in line with a peace plan proposed by President Petro Poroshenko, government forces said. Heavy fighting broke out at around 4 a.m. near the town of Krasny Liman, which itself has been under government control since early this month.

 

“We issued an ultimatum to the terrorists overnight to surrender their weapons. We guarantee their safety and investigation in line with Ukrainian law … They refused,” said government forces spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov.

 

“Now we are trying to narrow the encirclement. They are trying to break out,” Seleznyov said.

Ironically, the more a truce is trumpeted up, the worse the fighting gets: “Up to 4,000 separatist fighters could be involved in Thursday’s fighting near Krasny Liman, and armored vehicles and possibly tanks were being used by both sides, the military source said. “There’s a major battle going on which exceeds in terms of force and scale anything there has been up to now,” a military source said.“

Olesya, a woman in the village of Yampil near Krasny Liman, said Ukrainian forces had entered the village in armored vehicles bearing the Ukrainian flag.

“There’s been no shooting. We residents went out into the street to watch the column – and then went back to hide in our houses again,” she said by telephone from her house where she was with her husband and five-year-old daughter.

“But there was fighting all night. Mines were flying over our heads. Planes flew over and we could hear heavy weapons. It’s awful what is going on here,” she said.

Finally, the separatists fighters, realizing they only have to lose should they put down their arms, have no choice but to continue fighting, have “demanded that the Ukrainian military leave the region, called Donbass, while others wanted a war tribunal for Ukraine’s newly elected leaders. Most said they wanted the restoration of “stability,” the precise definition of which remained elusive.”

“Maybe there was a way back when this all just started, when the people were out here with the flags to make their point, and before the killing,” said Denis, a separatist fighter from Makeyevka, a depressed industrial town outside of Donetsk, when asked how and when the conflict might be resolved.

 

Another fighter jumped in helpfully. “The Third World War,” he said to nods of assent.

So much for a detente which as we explained yesterday, even Putin is now working to promote. Sadly, as Denis summarized, any chance of a real truce is long gone as the time for diplomacy has passed. What remains will be a drawn out, mini civil war which will mark the lives of the citizens in the Donbas for a long time. The only winners now are those who seek continued instability in the region.

As for the general public, their focus on Ukraine has long since passed. Now, it is the turn of Iraq’s 15 minutes of infamy to distract from whatever key events are quietly taking place behind the scenes.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1lIYvNV Tyler Durden

Initial claims very slightly missed expectations (312 vs 311.9 exp) for the 3rd week in a row but the signal is no worse and no better as it sits near cycle lows. Continuing claims continue to drop; at 2.56 million, this is the lowest continuing claims since Nov 2007 – the last 4 months have seen continuing claims drop at the fastest rate in over 4 years. The bottom line is ‘this is as good as it gets’…

 

 

And this is what last week’s claims looked like broken down by state.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1qhjpZT Tyler Durden

Presented with little comment aside to note the surge in gold since Yellen gave markets the all-clear yesterday. It seems someone decided the open this morning was an opportune time to take on half a billion dollars of gold exposure…

 

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1iKagUf Tyler Durden

It was two days ago when we reported that America’s third crusade in Iraq “Is Not Going As Planned: Iraq Prime Minister Defies US, Accuses Saudi Arabia Of “Genocide”“, in which we said that “something unexpected happened: Iraq’s Shi’ite rulers defied Western calls on Tuesday to reach out to Sunnis to defuse the uprising in the north of the country, declaring a boycott of Iraq’s main Sunni political bloc and accusing Sunni power Saudi Arabia of promoting “genocide.”… the Shi’ite prime minister has moved in the opposite direction of Obama’s demands, announcing a crackdown on politicians and officers he considers “traitors” and lashing out at neighbouring Sunni countries for stoking militancy.”

Furthermore, Maliki managed to infuriate not only the US with his intransigence, but more importantly Saudi Arabia whom he accused, accurately many would say, of being the true aggressor and instigator of sectarian violence, saying “we hold them responsible for supporting these groups financially and morally, and for the outcome of that – which includes crimes that may qualify as genocide: the spilling of Iraqi blood, the destruction of Iraqi state institutions and historic and religious sites.”

This promptly escalated when, as we wrote yesterday, “In Escalating War Of Words, Saudi Arabia Fires Back At Iraq, Warns Of Civil War, Opposes Foreign Intervention.”

That was just it: nothing but words, as certainly Saudi Arabia has zero diplomatic pull with Iraq. However, it does with the US.

Which is perhaps why the culmination of all the events in the past weeks was revealed overnight when when, as the WSJ revealed, “the Obama administration is signaling that it wants a new government in Iraq without Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, convinced the Shiite leader is unable to reconcile with the nation’s Sunni minority and stabilize a volatile political landscape. The U.S. administration is indicating it wants Iraq’s political parties to form a new government without Mr. Maliki as he tries to assemble a ruling coalition following elections this past April, U.S. officials say.”

From the WSJ:

Such a new government, U.S., officials say, would include the country’s Sunni and Kurdish communities and could help to stem Sunni support for the al Qaeda offshoot, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, that has seized control of Iraqi cities over the past two weeks. That, the officials argue, would help to unify the country and reverse its slide into sectarian division.

 

A growing number of U.S. lawmakers and Arab allies, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are pressing the White House to pull its support for Mr. Maliki. Some of them are pushing for change in exchange for providing their help in stabilizing Iraq, say U.S. and Arab diplomats.

Here is how the US defines “democracy”, courtesy of Dianne Feinstein:

The chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) told a congressional hearing Wednesday: “The Maliki government, candidly, has got to go if you want any reconciliation.”

In other words, yet another majority-elected ruler is about to be replaced because the US is not quite happy with how he is operating. And to think this strategy worked out so well in Ukraine in the last few months.

Needless to say, one can’t have yet another direct US intervention in another nation’s affairs without John Kerry being present. Sure enough, he is:

Mr. Kerry was even more pointed in his criticism of Mr. Maliki on Monday, arguing his removal could help stabilize Iraq’s sectarian divide.

 

“If there is a clear successor, if the results of the election are respected, if people come together with the cohesiveness necessary to build a legitimate government that puts the reforms in place that people want, that might wind up being very salutatory,” he told Yahoo News.

 

Mr. Maliki’s State of Law coalition won a plurality of seats, 92 out of 328, in Iraq’s parliamentary elections. The country is waiting for ratification of the results, after which the parliamentary speaker will call on the leadership of Mr. Maliki’s party to form a new government.

As we also noted yesterday, things in the middle east have flip-flopped so much in recent months, that Iraq, which for years was a close US ally has been left to fend for itself, while a sworn US enemy, Iran, is now America’s closest middle-east ally, on par with Saudi Arabia. So much so that Iran may be instrumental in determining the next Iraq government.

Current and former U.S. officials said Iran will be crucial a player in efforts to form a new government in Baghdad and potentially remove Mr. Maliki, and will push for any new government to be friendly to its interests.

 

Tehran and Washington are Iraq’s most important diplomatic, economic and military partners. And both the U.S. and Iran have pledged in recent days to support the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIS.

 

Former U.S. officials said both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations communicated regularly with Iranian diplomats in Baghdad during the political deliberation in 2006 and 2010 that previously elected Mr. Maliki. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns discussed Iraq’s political reform process with Iranian officials on Monday in Vienna, according to the State Department.

And then there is of course, Saudi Arabia:

“We believe that Maliki’s sectarianism and exclusion of Sunnis has led to the insurgency we are seeing,” said a senior Arab official. “He unfortunately managed to unite ISIS with the former Baathists and Saddam supporters.”

In conclusion, Iraq’s third liberation, this time from a puppet government the US itself appointed to the country, is about to proceed, with the result being yet another puppet state, this time controlled by a joint venture of Iran and Saudi Arabia, which will be quite amusing to watch considering the two countries are hardly bestest buddies.

In the meantime, keep an eye on ISIS – the terrorist organization with the glossy annual report, which many say is merely a front for someone else, has managed to dig itself in within the Sunni communities in the north, and is the biggest wildcard. One wonders how long until the mercenary force finds its latest major backer, because for all the western, US-led intervention, both Russia and China are oddly missing from the scene. We expect that to change soon.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1vXqyRm Tyler Durden

It was two days ago when we reported that America’s third crusade in Iraq “Is Not Going As Planned: Iraq Prime Minister Defies US, Accuses Saudi Arabia Of “Genocide”“, in which we said that “something unexpected happened: Iraq’s Shi’ite rulers defied Western calls on Tuesday to reach out to Sunnis to defuse the uprising in the north of the country, declaring a boycott of Iraq’s main Sunni political bloc and accusing Sunni power Saudi Arabia of promoting “genocide.”… the Shi’ite prime minister has moved in the opposite direction of Obama’s demands, announcing a crackdown on politicians and officers he considers “traitors” and lashing out at neighbouring Sunni countries for stoking militancy.”

Furthermore, Maliki managed to infuriate not only the US with his intransigence, but more importantly Saudi Arabia whom he accused, accurately many would say, of being the true aggressor and instigator of sectarian violence, saying “we hold them responsible for supporting these groups financially and morally, and for the outcome of that – which includes crimes that may qualify as genocide: the spilling of Iraqi blood, the destruction of Iraqi state institutions and historic and religious sites.”

This promptly escalated when, as we wrote yesterday, “In Escalating War Of Words, Saudi Arabia Fires Back At Iraq, Warns Of Civil War, Opposes Foreign Intervention.”

That was just it: nothing but words, as certainly Saudi Arabia has zero diplomatic pull with Iraq. However, it does with the US.

Which is perhaps why the culmination of all the events in the past weeks was revealed overnight when when, as the WSJ revealed, “the Obama administration is signaling that it wants a new government in Iraq without Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, convinced the Shiite leader is unable to reconcile with the nation’s Sunni minority and stabilize a volatile political landscape. The U.S. administration is indicating it wants Iraq’s political parties to form a new government without Mr. Maliki as he tries to assemble a ruling coalition following elections this past April, U.S. officials say.”

From the WSJ:

Such a new government, U.S., officials say, would include the country’s Sunni and Kurdish communities and could help to stem Sunni support for the al Qaeda offshoot, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, that has seized control of Iraqi cities over the past two weeks. That, the officials argue, would help to unify the country and reverse its slide into sectarian division.

 

A growing number of U.S. lawmakers and Arab allies, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are pressing the White House to pull its support for Mr. Maliki. Some of them are pushing for change in exchange for providing their help in stabilizing Iraq, say U.S. and Arab diplomats.

Here is how the US defines “democracy”, courtesy of Dianne Feinstein:

The chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) told a congressional hearing Wednesday: “The Maliki government, candidly, has got to go if you want any reconciliation.”

In other words, yet another majority-elected ruler is about to be replaced because the US is not quite happy with how he is operating. And to think this strategy worked out so well in Ukraine in the last few months.

Needless to say, one can’t have yet another direct US intervention in another nation’s affairs without John Kerry being present. Sure enough, he is:

Mr. Kerry was even more pointed in his criticism of Mr. Maliki on Monday, arguing his removal could help stabilize Iraq’s sectarian divide.

 

“If there is a clear successor, if the results of the election are respected, if people come together with the cohesiveness necessary to build a legitimate government that puts the reforms in place that people want, that might wind up being very salutatory,” he told Yahoo News.

 

Mr. Maliki’s State of Law coalition won a plurality of seats, 92 out of 328, in Iraq’s parliamentary elections. The country is waiting for ratification of the results, after which the parliamentary speaker will call on the leadership of Mr. Maliki’s party to form a new government.

As we also noted yesterday, things in the middle east have flip-flopped so much in recent months, that Iraq, which for years was a close US ally has been left to fend for itself, while a sworn US enemy, Iran, is now America’s closest middle-east ally, on par with Saudi Arabia. So much so that Iran may be instrumental in determining the next Iraq government.

Current and former U.S. officials said Iran will be crucial a player in efforts to form a new government in Baghdad and potentially remove Mr. Maliki, and will push for any new government to be friendly to its interests.

 

Tehran and Washington are Iraq’s most important diplomatic, economic and military partners. And both the U.S. and Iran have pledged in recent days to support the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIS.

 

Former U.S. officials said both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations communicated regularly with Iranian diplomats in Baghdad during the political deliberation in 2006 and 2010 that previously elected Mr. Maliki. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns discussed Iraq’s political reform process with Iranian officials on Monday in Vienna, according to the State Department.

And then there is of course, Saudi Arabia:

“We believe that Maliki’s sectarianism and exclusion of Sunnis has led to the insurgency we are seeing,” said a senior Arab official. “He unfortunately managed to unite ISIS with the former Baathists and Saddam supporters.”

In conclusion, Iraq’s third liberation, this time from a puppet government the US itself appointed to the country, is about to proceed, with the result being yet another puppet state, this time controlled by a joint venture of Iran and Saudi Arabia, which will be quite amusing to watch considering the two countries are hardly bestest buddies.

In the meantime, keep an eye on ISIS – the terrorist organization with the glossy annual report, which many say is merely a front for someone else, has managed to dig itself in within the Sunni communities in the north, and is the biggest wildcard. One wonders how long until the mercenary force finds its latest major backer, because for all the western, US-led intervention, both Russia and China are oddly missing from the scene. We expect that to change soon.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1vXqyRm Tyler Durden