Opinion: The President in Basra

Basra and its residents have suffered a lot from the sectarian ideas that aim to endanger security in the province and destabilise the city (of Basra) and other cities in western and central Iraq. These problems forced the government to end the suffering of Basra's people, as it is illogical for the new constitutionally-based government to remain silent about what is happening to the people there. The cabinet intervened to solve the issue by sending a high-ranking delegation led by vice president Adil Abdul-Mahdi to investigate the problems. But nothing improved on the ground. The prime minister, (Nuri al-Maliki,) has the authority to deal with the issue as the new government has taken power. He travelled to Basra, leading a large delegation that included vice-president Tariq al-Hashimi to end the economic deterioration and bloodshed in Basra. This sent a message to the people that the government is in touch with cities outside of the capital and that it is the responsibility of officials to solve big problems. It also showed that the government does not live in an ivory tower, isolated from the people, as the prime minister said. Basra residents are hopeful that their problems will be solved now that leaders are involved in finding solutions.