AP Interview: Iraq's al-Maliki denies seeking comeback

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq‘s former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday denied he is seeking a political comeback, despite frequent appearances in local media and a recent high-profile visit to influential neighboring Iran.

Al-Maliki, who stepped aside last year after being widely blamed for the Islamic State group’s takeover of a third of Iraq, told The Associated Press he has no intention of returning to the office he held for eight years unless the people desire it. “If the Iraqi people decide to elect me…I won’t decline,” he said.

“I was not willing to be (prime minister) but when the job was imposed upon me — I stepped up to the call,” he added. “But if asked personally whether I am aiming to (become prime minister) — no. I am not.”

Al-Maliki’s decision to step down in August raised hopes for a new government that could roll back the Sunni insurgents and prevent the country from splitting apart. Al-Maliki, a Shiite, was widely accused of pursuing a sectarian agenda during his time in office that alienated the Sunni Muslim and Kurdish minorities.

He has also been blamed for the corruption and incompetence that seeped into Iraq’s U.S.-trained and equipped armed forces. The rot was brutally exposed when entire units collapsed in the face of last year’s militant advance, with commanders abandoning their posts and soldiers stripping off their uniforms as they fled.

Al-Maliki became prime minister in 2006 only after emerging as a compromise candidate atop a shaky coalition. He finally decided to step aside in favor of current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi after struggling for weeks to stay in power following the fall of Iraq’s second largest city Mosul last June.

The 65-year-old al-Maliki shepherded the country through its worst sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007. But his heavy-handed rule later contributed to its slide back into chaos. He had grown increasingly isolated as he was deserted not only by his Shiite allies but also Iran as well as the United States.

AP Interview: Iraq's al-Maliki denies seeking comeback