By Charles Hoskinson
BREAKING – Iraq’s political crisis deepened today as both sides hardened their positions, raising the threat of a new sectarian conflict – this time without the stabilizing influence of U.S. forces.

AT A NEWS CONFERENCE IN BAGHDAD broadcast live on Al Jazeera, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki defended his government’s arrest warrant against Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi on terrorism charges and called on officials in Iraqi Kurdistan to hand him over. He also warned other countries not to interfere with Iraq’s sovereignty. “It’s not magic power for democracy. We need to exert efforts,” he said.

HASHEMI MEANWHILE TOLD THE DAILY BEAST’S Eli Lake that the stability of his country is “really deteriorating” and he now supports a move by three Sunni-dominated provinces to seek independence from the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. The vice president, who has sought refuge from arrest in Iraqi Kurdistan, said the United States “left Iraq in a terrible situation. We are just very much closer to an autocratic system, this is the country America has left us.” Read the story here: http://bit.ly/tP2ICg

BIDEN TO THE RESCUE – The White House said the U.S. vice president spoke last night with Maliki and also with parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi. “The Vice President told both leaders that the United States is monitoring events in Iraq closely. He emphasized the United States’ commitment to a long-term strategic partnership with Iraq, our support for an inclusive partnership government and the importance of acting in a manner consistent with the rule of law and Iraq’s constitution. The Vice President also stressed the urgent need for the Prime Minister and the leaders of the other major blocs to meet and work through their differences together.”

THE LATEST CRISIS IS A SIGN that the Iraq war is really not over even though U.S. troops have left, former Bush administration Iraq adviser Meghan O’Sullivan writes in Bloomberg Businessweek. Read it here: http://buswk.co/u9VeIA

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