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"BAGHDAD \u2014 Iraq's new president on Monday snubbed the powerful incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and nominated the deputy parliament speaker to form the new government, raising fears of more political infighting as country faces the threat of Islamic State militants in the north.\nIn a televised address, President Fouad Massoum gave Haider al-Ibadi, who was selected by a coalition of Shiite political parties, 30 days to form a new government and present it to parliament for approval.\nSee also: How Obama Helped Extremism Grow in Iraq\nThe ceremony came hours after the embattled al-Maliki delivered a surprise speech at midnight accusing Massoum of blocking his reappointment as prime minister and carrying out \"a coup against the constitution and the political process.\"\nCritics say al-Maliki, a Shiite, contributed to the crisis facing the country by monopolizing power and pursuing a sectarian agenda that alienated the country's Sunni and Kurdish minorities.\n\nHaider al-Ibadi was nominated to be the new Iraqi prime minister.Image: Hadi Mizban/Associated PressAl-Ibadi's nomination came hours after al-Maliki deployed his elite security forces in the streets of Baghdad as hundreds of his supporters rallied, raising fears that he might use force to stay in power.\nThe new political crisis in Baghdad has raised concerns abroad.\nSpeaking to reporters in Sydney, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. stands \"absolutely squarely behind President Massoum,\" and called for restraint.\n\"What we urge the people of Iraq to do is to be calm,\" Kerry said. \"There should be no use force, no introduction of troops or militias into this moment of democracy for Iraq.\"\nKerry said a new government \"is critical in terms of sustaining the stability and calm in Iraq,\" and that \"our hope is that Mr. Maliki will not stir those waters.\"\nU.S. reportedly arming Kurds in north\nAlso Monday, senior U.S. officials said the Obama administration, which launched airdrops and airstrikes last week to support Kurdish and Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State group, has begun directly providing weapons to the Kurdish peshmerga forces who have started to make gains against the militants.\nU.S. airstrikes have reinvigorated Iraqi Kurdish forces battling the Islamic State, and on Sunday, the Kurdish peshmerga fighters retook two towns \u2014 Makhmour and al-Gweir, some 28 miles (45 kilometers) from the Kurdish capital of Irbil \u2014 from the Sunni militants in what was one of their first victories after weeks of retreat.\nThe move to directly arm the Kurds underscores the level of U.S. concern about the Islamic State's gains. The officials wouldn't say which U.S. agency is providing the arms or what weapons are being sent, but one official said it isn't the Pentagon. The CIA has historically done similar quiet arming operations. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.\nPresident Barack Obama warned Americans on Saturday that the new campaign to bring security in Iraq requires military and political changes and \"is going to be a long-term project.\"\nObama said Iraqi security forces need to revamp to effectively mount an offensive, which requires a government in Baghdad that the Iraqi military and people have confidence in. He said Iraq needs a prime minister \u2014 an indication suggesting he's written off the legitimacy of the incumbent, al-Maliki.\nThe militant advances and the political turmoil have deepened Iraq's humanitarian crisis, with some 200,000 Iraqis recently joining the 1.5 million people already displaced from violence this year.\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/08/11/iraq-maliki-massoum-ibadi/>