While associating the Iraqi people’s protests and demonstrations to foreign countries, a method used by Iran’s overthrown Shah and the mullahs, Maliki claimed he has heard the demonstrators’ message, again copying a method of Iran’s toppled Shah.
Maliki went to desperately beg the people to bring an end to their protests and demonstrations, threatening continuing such rallies will be in no one’s interest and make conditions even more complicated.
Maliki also promised to release all female prisoners who have no judicial rulings or have been arrested due to their family members. This is while the previous day Maliki had claimed there is no prisoner in Iraq without a judicial ruling.
Maliki also presented four options, admitting his rule has come to dead-end:
1- Civil war
2- Separating and dividing Iraq
3- Early elections, which in his words is the best method to solve the current crisis in Iraq
4- Negotiations and talks with partners around one table.
Maliki also claimed Turkey will tear apart under Erdogan’s rule and in Syria, as he had said in the past, Bashar Assad will not be brought down.

In other news, Sot al-Iraq website cited the Arabic-language al-Hayat daily and wrote, “Washington is now looking to replace Maliki and Talabani. This crisis has surrounded Maliki in a way that he is now using the Iraqi Army intelligence to follow up on the movements of his possible rivals, such as Ibrahim Jafari and Ammar Hakim. Maliki even threw his own spokesman and advisor Ali Dabbaq – busy sending his family members out of Iraq – ‘under the bus’, as Americans say.
It has become difficult for all US officials to talk with any Iraqi politician without hearing continuous complaints about Maliki’s approach and his individualist methods in decision makings, imposing power, taking over the government’s assets such as the security apparatus, official advertisement, money for his own personal power, enmity against his opponents and annihilating government institutions and the political process, one US official said to the al-Ray daily on the condition of anonymity.
This time it appears Maliki has gone after something bigger than he could handle, this US official added. Repeating the al-Hashemi scenario with another Sunni leader seems to have become a load too heavy for him. Now the US is looking for new allies in Iraq since Iran is going the limits to establish another Hezbollah in this country. Now the US is weighing various alternatives and taking suggestions on Iraq, and it appears just pumping out Iraq’s oil will not be enough anymore.