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 While Obama administration officials insisted over months of quiet diplomacy that they preferred no candidate, only a broadly inclusive government, they made it clear that they did not favor a government that included the Sadrists, who are closely allied with Iran and oppose the presence of American troops. “An Iraqi government that owes its existence to the Sadrists and lacks strong support from Allawi would necessarily be one that leans in Tehran’s direction, something Washington can little afford at the moment,” Daniel P. Serwer, a vice president at the United States Institute of Peace, said in an e-mail. As he tries to assemble the coalition he needs to win the support of a simple majority in the 325-member parliament, he has brushed up against the country's many religious and ethnic factions. Photo 
 
 “Now he has a great possibility to become prime minister again,” said a prominent Kurdish lawmaker, Mahmoud Othman. And some prominent Shiites have yet to side with al-Maliki, which could open potentially disruptive rifts as Iraq tries to find a political balance. The Sadrists at first backed Adel Abdul Mahdi, one of two vice presidents who is a leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which was part of a broader Shiite alliance that joined Mr. Maliki’s bloc after the election, only to disagree on who should be prime minister. While many Iraqi political and military leaders have expressed support for that, the Sadrists remain opposed to what they call “a foreign occupation.”
– A coalition of Shiite groups supported giving Nouri al-Maliki another term as prime minister, the Washington Post reports. The rare sign of progress came as the country achieved the dubious record of the longest time between an election and the formation of an actual government. Much uncertainty remains, however, and it could take weeks or even months for Maliki to get things in place, notes the New York Times. Today's progress may not be great news for the US because it would give much political clout to an old nemesis, Moktada al-Sadr, adds the AP. It was his followers, known as Sadrists, who reversed themselves and backed Maliki in a bid to get a share of power in the new government.