Premier Presses on with Reconciliation Plan

As the Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki continues working on the national reconciliation initiative and encouraging armed groups to engage with the political process, Maliki is seeking to consolidate domestic forces by forging alliances with clerics and tribal leaders all over Iraq, plus armed groups which have expressed a real interest in joining the process, in addition to supporters of the political forces that are already participating in the government. In doing so, he aims to strike a strong blow against terrorism and its sources.