On March 17, results from parliamentary elections placed former Prime
Minister Iyad Alawi ahead of his longtime rival, Prime Minister Nouri Al
Maliki. Al Maliki, echoing accusations by other Shi'ite parties, raised the
prospect of fraud.
Officials said the Baghdad government was concerned that Al Qaida and
Shi'ite militias would take advantage of a political vacuum to foment
unrest. They said Iranian-backed militias opposed to Al Maliki could
intensify attacks on Iraqi and U.S. forces on grounds that the election were
fraudulent.
The government has determined that Al Qaida was preparing for a series
of mass-casualty attacks after the March 7 elections. They said Al
Qaida, frustrated by its failure to torpedo the elections, could launch new
attacks to prevent a Sunni-Shi'ite coalition.
Officials said the government was discussing deployment plans with the
U.S. military, ordered to accelerate its withdrawal from Iraq over the next
six months. They said the Iraqi intelligence community has intensified
monitoring of suspected insurgency networks throughout the country.
"The U.S. military has been sustaining reconnaissance missions over
rural areas suspected of containing insurgency strongholds," the official
said.
