Reports say that Iraq’s Parliament has approved 27 actual ministers of less contentious ministries and approved “acting” ministers to the important and highly controversial ones. Oddly, (or not?) over a third of Iraqi MPs were not present for the vote according to the AP, which reports that a show of hands vote on the cabinet was taken among the 185 assembly members (out of 275 elected and 273 that remain after one resignation and one assassination) who showed up.
Apparently Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s Sunni choice for defence minister was rejected and Jaafari will be acting defence minister as well as Prime Minister. And, the Iraqi who just won’t go away, former Pentagon pet turned Shiite statesman Ahmed Chalabi will have the oil ministry as “acting” minister.
