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On Monday, Iraqi President Fuad Masum tasked Haidar al-Abadi, the first deputy speaker of parliament, with forming the new government.
“The country is now in your hands”, Masum told Abadi during a brief ceremony which was aired live on television; only moments earlier, Abadi was picked by the Shiite National Alliance parliamentary bloc as a nominee for Prime Minister over incumbent Nuri al-Maliki. Masum picked Abadi despite objections from Maliki, who had given a defiant speech at midnight, indicating that he would fight to the bitter end to stay on as Prime Minister.
Immediately after the announcement,Brett McGurk US deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs congratulated al-Abadi on his new task.
“The United States stands ready to fully support a new and inclusive Iraqi government”, McGurk said.
“We welcome the decision by Iraq’s President to charge the PM nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc to form a new cabinet”
“We congratulate Dr Haidar al-Abadi on the nomination and urge him to form a new cabinet and national program as swiftly as possible”, McGurk posted on his Twitter account.
US Vice President Joe Biden said that the nomination was a “key milestone” and offered US assistance to help gain back territory lost during the IS sweep. Biden spoke with Masum over the phone, the White House said.
The White House said that Biden “commended Masum for meeting this key milestone and reiterated President Obama’s repeated calls for the timely creation of a new, more inclusive government that will be able to address the legitimate concerns of all Iraqis”.
He “also emphasized President Obama’s desire to boost coordination with a new Iraqi government and Iraqi security forces to roll back gains by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant”.
The US has expressed its dismay over the rapid gains the Islamic State has made since its offensive began in June – extremists were able to capture Mosul and most of the Sunni heartland during the sweep.