ISIS Is Weakened, but Iraq Election Could Unravel Hard-Won Stability
Given the country’s history of tight elections and coalition governments in the three national polls since Mr. Hussein’s ouster
in 2003, Mr. Abadi needs an alliance with at least one of three major bulwarks of Shiite political power to win, analysts say.
Even a Shiite leader, Moktada al-Sadr, a possible kingmaker in this vote, called the alliance "abhorrent."
Within 24 hours, Mr. Abadi had reversed himself, and the militia leaders left the coalition.
One way Mr. Abadi could bolster his reputation, especially among Iraq’s Sunnis, is a successful performance at an international donor’s conference next month in which his
government is hoping to attract hundreds of billions of dollars in aid to rebuild the mostly Sunni cities destroyed during military operations against the Islamic State.
30, 2018
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In just three years, the Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has rebuilt the army, defeated the Islamic State
and restored sovereignty across this deeply divided nation, accomplishments that, in the eyes of many, give him the stature of an Iraqi Abe Lincoln.
He welcomed the leaders of Iranian-backed Shiite militias into a grand coalition
that he hoped would cement his image as a moderating figure who could reach beyond his own Shiite base to appeal to Iraq’s other communities.
But while Mr. Abadi is the leader of the nation, he does not head his own political
party, the Islamic Dawa — making his political position precarious.
