who is al abadi? >> who is haider al abadi. 's leader who came to the country in the 70's, and has been involved in the iraqi war position since that time. he was one of the leader in london and beirut, so he's an outspoken person, and outside of the country. haider al abadi, he has been in all the iraqi position meeting over about 30-35 years so far. when he went back to the country he get literally minister and demonstration. he was the minister, and then he get elected and he headed the investment between 2005 an and 2008. he has been head of finance. he has been the leader for how lonhow long, he was a trusted person. tested person. he was basically executive, and also he worked with the legislative. so the shy person that they agree on consensus. he has a great relationship with the iraqi. the courts trust him, and also the sunni trust him. so here is haid er al abadi giving them the opportunity to move on the political process. >> shia, dowa, haider al abadi he is coming from a similar background in some respects as you n

abadi. and, of course, the -- mr. abadi's biggest challenge is to bring the sunnis on board as well. so you would think that given that the sunnis are in the poorest state in their power base and their constituency has been taken by isis and they are in desperate need of they, they would be in the weakest place. but that's not correct. their hand is now stronger than ever. everybody now strongly believes that defeating isis in iraq and liberating the major towns and cities of the sunni triangle will require their active engagement. you need to be engagement of sunnis on the ground. everybody insists that the sunni political and tribal leaders. this is where they may turn a corner. so the sunnis on the other hand themselves would probably no longer accept sectarian rule by a shiite majority. the kurds, on the other hand, have lost faith in iraq. and they wish that they did not have to go back to baghdad. but they are doing so out of necessity and lack of choice. the kurds could not comprehend how essential government i

what can you tell us about al-abadi. >> i know mr. al abadi.was a member of parliament when i was in baghdad. he has very distinguished background. he was from baghdadi family, a very well-known family. he's a member of the party that mr. maliki alsoes with a member of. he spent a lot of time in the united kingdom, got a ph.d there. so he knows the west and maybe more open to alternative ideas. he's got a big and difficult task ahead, not only dealing with the challenge of mr. maliki, but also to bring iraqis, shi'a, sunni, kurds together, form a government. and it's very difficult and challenging time. >> ifill: laith kubba, what can he accomplish that nouri al-maliki could not or cannot? >> well, number one, he is less threatening now to all other political blocs. they see him as less threatening. >> ifill: even though he's from the same party. >> he's from the same party but the party has been fragmented now a little bit. and maliki has disowned him, in a way. so that might play to his advantage. he has a weaker hand. but on the other hand,

abadi will face real challenges in keeping the community from insurgency, ending isis.ll be a difficult task. >> where nuri al maliki was accused of pillaging and consolidating power for himself, haider al abadi is coming into office at a time where isis militants are at baghdad's door. they were able to make stunning gains in the north of the country and now dominate a third of it. surely there's more incentive, more pressure now for this incoming government to create a more inclusive plan. would you say iraq's relationship with the u.s. has changed because of all of this? >> i think president obama was just not going to provide the government in baghdad, the central government, with sufficient military support under a maliki government. that was the red line, i think, for president obama. this creates an opening for the obama administration to provide more robust support. let's be clear here. i think it will be limited u.s. air power to prevent isis from expanding. but without boots on the ground it's hard to find a short solution for isis. when we had 180,000 soldier

now many sunnis are backing abadi. the president of the kurdish regional government masoud barzani has expressed his support and leaders in neighboring iran, turkey, and saudi arabia have also welcomed abadi's appointment. but maliki is refusing to step down or step aside. he met on tuesday with senior military and security officials. he reportedly instructed them not to interfere in the political crisis. still iraqis are seeing more of what they've seen throughout months of fighting between shias and sunnis. a series of bombs exploded in shia neighborhoods in baghdad. security officials believe islamist extremists staged the attacks. >>> thousands of iraqis have been forced to flee from the sunni insurgents. they are angry about the political uncertainty. >> translator: we want our government to make a united country and give us back our peaceful life. >> in june the militants seized iraq's second largest city, mosul, forcing residents out. about 1,000 people have taken shelter in the suburbs of erbil in the kurdish a

on monday, haider al-abadi was nominated to replayers al-maliki. he's got 30 days to form a new government. however, maliki says the nomination is a violation of constitution and asking forces to stay out of the political crisis. >> translator: i really urge you the iraqi military to uproot the clawct and a islamic state . >> talking about deal forces in the north of the country, kurdish forces continue their battle against islamic state fighters. the u.s. has been backing the kurdish forces with air strikes on the islamic state fighters in the area. however this continues on the humanitarian crisis, as islamic state advance on their town. giving more aid to groups in the northern iraq to deal with the disaster. jenna rupp is live in erbil, first of all the word that comes to mind is stalemate. you have one man with all the support and the other man who doesn't want to go anywhere. >> reporter: yep, that's pretty much it but the plans is tipping towards prime minister nouri al-maliki's successor, haider al-abadi has a month now according to the con

abadi has served as deputy speaker in parliament and as an

so who is haider al abadi.e was born in baghdad and lived in britain for many years after his family was targeted by saddam hug saddam hussein. he was a key adviser to prime minister nouri al-maliki. like al maliki he is shia muslim and part of the state of law coalition. he was deputy speaker of parliament just a few weeks ago but was considered contender in the role of prime minister in the last two elections. we spoke with an analyst who said that al abadi must name a cabinet in the next 30 days in. >> they have assigned haider al abadi, now he must form a cabinet within 30 days. containing all the parties and blocs inside the parliament. thirdly if he failed within to days if he failed to form a cabinet then the president must assign the second majority bloc inside the parliament. now we have now a matter of issues about 30 days. now mr. maliki is depending now on these 30 days that he will push all these blocs, all the iraqi blocs, sunni, shia, kurds, to not make a promise for haider al abadi, that they wi

allow al-abadi to take over the job. they hope abadi can take over. some say assisting isis so much. he has a huge job ahead of him, abadi. al maliki took so long to accept the writing on the wall, many think he was holding out for some sort of assurance or deal he is safe in iraq. a difficult task. isis moving south and west of the kurdish held areas choosing different fronts to advance fighting heavily against the peshmerga. they worry yazidi's are still under threat. the political deadlock left. al-abadi and his team need to get the country running again. only then will washington consider boosting the military aid that's so vitally needed to fight isis. >> they will have to make some overture toward unity. we'll see how far he is willing to go. thank you so much. >>> signs of potential progress in gaza. a five-day cease-fire appears to be holding between israel and hamas. palestinian negotiators causing optimism. this, as the state department concerns greater scrutiny during the fighting in gaza. israelis gearing up for a legal bat against allegat

al abadi. and all day long we've been getting stam, vice president joe biden called abadi earlier today and expressed his support. encouraged hip to form a more unified government, something they think nuri al maliki has failed to do and secretary of state john kerry put out his own statement saying very much the same thing. i think what we're going to hear from the president, he's going to make very similar comments and i think he's going to be encouraging of haider al abadi as the new prime minister. if you read between the lines and we've seen this for several weeks, the message from the president is it's time for nuri al maliki to go. >> stand by. we're going to have live coverage of the president once he gets to the microphones, gets in front of the cameras. we'll hear what he has to say about the situation in iraq, a situation that is pretty much in everyone agrees is awful right now as there's a genuine threat of genocide against a whole lot of people in northern iraq, including small ya

sees al abadi the only hope. they're choosing to blend in with the population making it more difficult to target. the u.s. sending an additional 138 advisers to iraq to plan the evacuation of thousands of refugees, refugees who are now under siege by these militants. nick paton walsh monitoring the developments from baghdad. the political developments it looks as though nuri al maliki is more isolated than in recent days. >> reporter: it's going to be extraordinarily hard for him to come back from this one, certainly. and i think many of them saw the end here. washington is backing haider al abadi. even iraq and saudi arabia on this one point. a statement on a facebook page saying mr. al abadi would welcome mr. nuri al maliki into the fold saying he did a lot to fight terrorism. many view this as a bid for those frankly in power inherent to the job in the next 30 days if haider al abadi can get his cabinet together fast enough to bring him into the fold again. many still waiting for him to make some kind of conce

because haider al-abadi is not exactly from the other political option. he's from the prime minister's party and coalition. he's going to be hard pressed to say this is some sort of coup. >> options for nouri al-maliki, security forces in the capitol, how much that armed security infrastructure is controlled by nouri al-maliki? >> well, mr. maliki has a very bad habit of getting units under the direct control of the prime minister. so he does have a number of units. but as to how really loyal to him they are, and the degree to which he put them under him, because he didn't want them under someone else, that's another matter. so i'm-i'm not convince they'd we're going osee a civil war break out, a civil war among shia i should say, break out in baghdad. i think it's something that he needs to calm down, and i'm sure there are a lot of people talking to him tonight, telling him this is not the way to go. so we'll have to see how this plays out but obviously it's a very unwelcome side light to what was very welcome news, that is the choice of another prime m

the secretary says abadi has to form a new government as soon as possible. >> the government has a challenge. it needs to govern inclues sive but also take steps to demonstrate their resolve. we're going to continue to stand with the iraqi people during this time of transition. >> they walked for days down a desolate mountain. our senior international correspondent ivan watson has been documenting the plight of iraq's yazidi minority trying to escape murderous islamic terrorists. he was there as yazidis made it to safety across the iraqi/syrian border. >> reporter: look at these people, fleeing across borders to escape isis militants. on this bridge which leads from a kurdish-controlled part of syria here into iraqi kurdistan, we've been watching a stream of desperate families carrying little more than the clothes on their backs walking. some of these people have been on the move for days. some of them have been camping. and now they're arriving here in iraqi kurdistan after fleeing their homes. in many cases, in just a matter of minutes. this stream of people, thousands every hour, has been

president fouad masoum asked haider al abadi to form a new cabinet within 30 days. abadi has served as deputy speaker in parliament and as an adviser to the incumbent prime minister, nuri al maliki, and they belong to the same party. maliki went on television to criticize the decision. he said it was a dangerous violation of the constitution and he said he would rectify the error. that set the stage for a showdown in a country already dealing with an islamist insurgency. over the past two months, sunni militants have swept across northern iraq and taken control of a number of towns and cities. many iraqis blame maliki for favoring other shia muslims and driving the insurgency and they've been calling for him to step aside. the crisis comes days after u.s. forces staged their first military action in iraq since pulling out in 2011. they've launched a series of airstrikes on the militants. u.s. and european leaders have been urging iraqis to form a government representing different ethnic and sectarian groups. they hope a unity government would bring about some calm.

now many sunnis are backing abadi. the president has expressed his support and leaders in neighboring iran, turkey, and saudi arabia have also welcomed abadi's appointment. maliki is refusing to step aside. he met with senior military and security officials. he instructed them not to interfere in the political crisis. iraqis are seeing more of what they've seen throughout months of fighting between shias and sunnis. a series of bombs exploded in shia neighborhoods in baghdad. security officials believe islamist extremists staged the attacks. >>> thousands of iraqis have been forced to flee from the sunni insurgents. they're angry about the political uncertainty. >> translator: we want our government to make us a united country and give us back our peaceful life. >> in june the militants seized the second largest city forcing residents out b 1,000 people have taken shelter in the suburbs of erbil. many have been suffering in soaring temperatures. they are organizing over who owns a oil field and welcomed abadi's nominat

abadi was named to replace him on monday. and the following day, the largest sunni faction started forming a cabinet. fighting continues between kurdish troops and the militants. the militants continue to besiege mountainous areas around sinjar. more than 20,000 people from a religious minority group remain stranded there without food or water. and u.s. officials have sent in more help. an additional 130 military advisers have joined in the relief effort. >> u.s. defense officials say they have reached a milestone in their work to destroy syria's chemical weapons. they say specialists have neutralized 100% of the agent used to make sarin gas. pentagon officials say experts aboard a containership have disposed of 581 tons of the agent. they will now turn their attention to the material for mustard gas. they expect to destroy all of that by next month. last sawing, the sarin attack in a suburb in damascus left hundreds of people dead. syrian leaders agreed to join the chemical weapons convention and give up their stockpile. >>

haider al-abadi. under the iraqi accusation there is a important step to eun unite iraq's community. >> and john, on martha's vineyard he stated that some have been escaping from mowrnltt sinjar and they are being helped to find safe place. >> what are the figures? >> lieu 10th bill mayville, he said there have since thursday when the president gave the order for this to go ahead been 14 successful missions, 15 targeted air strikes for which we assume that one of them was not successful but the numbers go on are from there. 310 bundles have been dropped on mount sinjar, 16,000 gallons of water, those 73,000 mres meals ready to eat, 50 to 60 sorties taking place, a movement of aircraft of one sort or another, represent jet or even drone. but the lieutenant general did go on to say that he felt the operation scope was limited. onoarnd -- on the other hand, i. is has been hobbled. >> women and children on a mountain in iraq many are members of a religious minority called yazidis. they were trapped on sin

who is hayider al abadi? are u.s. led invasion of iraq in 2003 and he went on to become head of the parliament's finance committee, a political veers to prime minister maliki and minister of operations. he was elected deputy speaker a few weeks ago and considered as prime minister in the last two elections. jane arath is in iraq. what option he does he have continuing being pushed out of power. >> well? there aren't good option he for the country, lauren, he could argue it is unconstitutional for him to be replaced and to go to the courts. problem is although this worked in 2010, when he also argued that had he a right to form a government, this time around, the courts aren't really participating in that gain. they've made clear that they're not going to interfere with this so that seems to be a rather limited option. he could try to gather enough political support to hang on but that too seems like a doomed effort. some as all have said in the past say that he could actually pull together elements of the army and sec

to go forward i'm withdrawing my nomination from the post of prime minister in favour of haider al-abadi, for the sake of the best doctors of the country. >> it's a country at war with itself, as well as against the islamic state group. kurds and sunnis sniffeded that maliki be replaced. he had lost report from his own shia allies. the shia leadership urged him to step down, convinced he could no longer hold the country or the shias together. >> translation: i faced a ferocious attack. >> reporter: nouri al-maliki became prime minister eight years ago, residing over iraq regaining sovereignty after u.s. occupation. in 2011 oversaw the exit of u.s. troops. he alienated political allies, until recently he retained popular support. in a bold move in 2008, he sent the iraqsy army to basra to retake the city. despite that nouri al-maliki's political legacy is seen as his sectarian once. under his watch sunni protests erupted. he accused the government of the marginalizing and mistreating him. the anger was fertile ground for the islamic state group. when is fighters moved into mosul, they met

now, haider al-abadi has support. we expected him to have his first public address today, addressing the nation since his appointment. but it was cancelled with no explanation. he really has a lot of challenges ahead he needs to create and form a government, a broad-based government, one that represents all communities. each should feel they have a say in governing the future of this country. a lot of challenges ahead, but there's optimism that this is a positive first step. breaking the political deadlock will not end the crisis because iraq is at war, the iraqi army collapsed and the territory is mainly the heartland in the hand of the islamic state group. >> as far as the battle against islamic state, the kurdish fighters have support from the u.s., and we hear they'll have weapons from france. are they making progress against the islamic state? >> well, it's a very difficult fight. first we have to remember that the islamic state group is well armed and well trained. they do have weapons, they managed to capture a

he lost a lot of support, even the shia parties, throwing their weight behind haiderrk al-abadi, and he was supposed to give a first public address, but it has been postponed. he has brought support, not just from iraqi parties, but the international community, the obama administration making clear that they would support him in his efforts to form an inclusive government. in a government. they need to form national unity and reconciliation to face the threat. at the end of the day it's not just the political crisis, there's a war. the islamic state has taken over a lot of territory. at the same time there are sunni groups fighting with them. you need to bring them in to the political process. >>> i want to ask a second question along those lines, we have the kurdish forces asking for u.s. help to battle the islamic state fighters. are they making headway? >> well, the kurdish forces are stretched therein, sharing a 1km border. they are appealing for assistance. we met the spokesperson of the peshmerga. they need heavy weapons. they want to target erbil and the oil fields. there's a

the americans have supported the new prime minister haider al abadi. the u.n., saudi arabia, iran, which used to be a strong ally of maliki. so now his only tactic now is to go to the courts and say this is unconstitutional. >> and are the courts free, biased, political? >> in iraq, because the thing is that maliki belongs to the shia section of the society. and what is apparent now is that there is a majority of the shia who wants maliki to move out and sees him as an obstacle to resolving this political crisis. >> it looks like he will have to go, even though it may be messy in the process? >> he can hinder it a little bit, but he doesn't have much choices. >> okay. looking at the spread of isis, or i.s. now, the news from earlier today is that they have taken another town near aleppo. and that wave of power is absolutely incredible in a relatively short space of time. is enough being done not only to help the yazidis but also to fight against them? >> when the international community is looking at how to deal with it, the united states and the europ

30 days that he would push all these blocs, sunni, shia, curds, not to make a promise for haider al abadi that they would support him. this is all he can do. the interior court did manage to or allow him to be the biggest bloc that supposed to be the candidate for the president to the prime minister. >> okay, so this now leads to the question what about the fighting with the islamic state group given that the elite forces are loyal to nouri al-maliki. >> yes, this is the main issue actually. just as i said before. this filthis is one of the major failures that mr. maliki's cabinet failed to do. now, the americans will be attacking airplanes and so on is only on the kurdish front. not on the iraqi army front, which is a message that even the americans are not support building maliki. they are not going to tal attack on the iraqi front when the new prime minister will be in charge, which means that they will not support maliki. >> explain to us those political movement in baghdad, thank you very much for your analyst. >>> a reminder that you can always get coverage of this iraq story on the

hider al-abadi. nouri al-maliki denies allegations that he was holding tonne power, saying he didn't want to govern lake saddam hussein. >> translation: hereby i announce today that to allow the political process to go forward i withdraw my nomination were the prime minister post in favour of the deer brother hider al-abadi for the sake of the best interests of this country, and i will remain a loyal soldier to gepd iraq and its great people. i will be there to support my nation as my country rises to its destined glorry. >> jane arraf is live in erbil. after days of intense pressure and days when we thought nouri al-maliki may employ his militias to hang on to power, why is he stepping down now? >> well, the pressure was too much. now, intense pressure, obviously from the united states, from the europeans, and iran as well as within the country. what clinched it is prosecutor usual to the top shia -- is pressure from the top shia religious leaders. the grand ayatollah ali al-sistani rarely gets invo

. >> on monday, the iraqi president nominated haider al abadi, the deputy speaker of the parliament, to replace al mali i maliki. nuri al maliki seems to be digging in further. so what happens next? >> well, it was an interesting speech, you can imagine, he could have been slightly more defiant. he didn't say the magic words everyone seems to expect him to say, which is "i'm stepping down from power." he didn't also say he would not leave under any condition. he said he was waiting for the decision of the federal court. they're the ones who may eventually rule on the constitutionality of what's been happening with his successor, haider al abadi, named prime minister-des ignate by the new president, embraced by washington, iran, saudi arabia and much of the politicals here in baghdad. that is potentially giving him a way out. it may be he's holding out for some guarantee for his future safety or immunity from prosecution or pleasant lifestyle. we don't quite know. it was an interesting lengthy speech. he talked about the sacrifices, again of those soldiers fighting isis on the front l

the man to exceed him is abadi.y with us on bbc world news. >>> welcome to "gmt" on bbc world news. i'm lucy hockings. in this half hour, india's prime minister breaks tradition on independence day. >>> modi speaks to the nation as he tackles subjects like rape and sanitation. >>> has anything change india since he came to power? >>> the world health organization needs to take lead leader ship comparing the ebola outbreak to a war. >>> the shame of a nation. that's how india's prime minister described the recent state of rape across the country. he used his first eindependence speech to stop discriminating against women and also called on parents to take responsibility for their children's actions. >> today when we hear about incidents of rape, our head hangs in shame. today i want to ask every parent, every mother and father, when your daughter turns ten, 12 years of age, you become weary and cautious. you ask where she's going, when will she be back home. you ask her to inform you when she reaches her destination

maliki says abadi's nomination is meaningless. he went on television saying he would not step down until a court decides whether the changes are constitutional. his critices say maliki favored shias and fueled divisions with sunnis. on wednesday, militants staged a number of car bombings in baghdad, a day after a bomb went off near the home of one of abadi's relatives. security authorities say that that attack was politically motivated. critics have also accused maliki of driving an insurgency. sunni militants captured a number of cities in a push across northern iraq. now they're locked in a fight with kurdish troops backed by the u.s. >>> french president francois hollande says the kurds are facing a catastrophic situation. he's announced plans to provide weapons to the fighters. he released a statement promising to supply arms to the kurdish leadership, but did not go into detail about the quantity or kind of weapons his government would deliver. hollande positioned himself alongside u.s. leaders. they started air strikes last

you don't feel confident in haider al-abadi. even if he abides by national reconciliation. >> a concern i had for months and years, is americans under bush and president obama now are willing to stake security on individuals. haider al-abadi is a welcome change in baghdad. as i outlined in the "new york times" piece, the problems go well beyond dd haider al-abadi. if you installed nelson mandela in baghdad, i'm not sure he could overcome the systematic failures within the iraqi political system, because of the entrenched sectarianism, the entrenched corruption and the interference of regional powers to weaken iraq and keep it under tehran's control. >> we had two ambassadors to iraq - - first ebola related death outside of africa. and this spanish priest who worked in africa and tested positive for ebola is returning you wrote in distinguish politicao the national security staff sa part of the problem, because most don't speak the lang yij, nor do they speak. you quoted saying: tested negative for ebola. world health organizatio

many hope the new country's new prime minister-dig nature haidar al abadi will help end the isis militants. >> john kerry supported this decision, calling it important. al maliki says he's stepping aside in the interest of the country. take a listen. >> translator: i say to you, iraqi people, i don't want any office, my office in government is your trust in me, which is the highest and most important position before you. i announce to you today, as a new government, i draw my nomination for mr. al abadi for the interest of iraq as a soldier fighting for its people. >> new reports say isis militants are on the move. they are said to be advancing south and west of the oil-rich city of kirkuk. it's been a stronghold since british forces abandoned their bases two months ago. isis crisis is creating a refugee crisis. >> yazidi refugees who fled to mt. sinjar announced staedly making their way into camps in the region. the u.n. says 15,000 people have arrived at one camp inside the syrian border. >> others are seeking refuge in the iraqi town of sakow, and that is where anna coren is reporting.

earlier today vice president biden and i called hain haider al-abadi. to congratulate him and encourage him to create a government inclusive of all rakes. >> john terret in washington. john. >> good evening john. the pentagon put up an operation is director in the form of lieutenant general bill mayville, over four nights the following has happened. 14 successful missions he said, 15 targeted air strikes, 310 bundles sent down to the stranded yazidis on mount sinjar. 75,000 meals ready to eat and 15,000 gallons of water. every day there are between 50 and 60 aircraft sorties. helicopters to aircraft to even drone. lieutenant mayville is speaking to what the mission is going to achieve. >> we're going to do what we need to do to protect our facilities, protect our embassy. to protect our american citizens and to reduce the siege as well as protect those aircraft that are providing support to mount sinjar. >> and john late word this evening from cen centcom, add 1, 3 and 4:30 eastern daylight time according to u.s. jets, attacks on multiple checkpoints in

i had a chance to speak to prime minister designate abadi a few days ago, and he spoke about the needhe kind of inclusive government, a government that speaks to all the people of iraq that is needed right now. he still has a challenging task in putting a government together. but we are modestly hopeful that the iraqi government situation is moving in the right direction. now, second, i want to address something that's been in the news in the last couple of days and that's the situation in ferguson, missouri, i know americans have been deeply disturbed about the scenes we have witnessed in the heart land of the country. i want us to step back and think about how we are going to be moving forward. this morning i received a thorough update on the situation from attorney general irk ah -- eric holder. i've already tasked the department to investigate the death of michael brown. the department of justice is consulting with local authorities ways they can maintain public safety without restricting the right of peaceful protest and avoiding unnecessary escalation. i made clear to the attorn

they are welcomingal-abadi. >> all right. i think we lost him. we are having a tough time hearing nick. he's in baghdad reporting on this. it's been dramatic, the politics of it. reporting from mount sinjar with you have aid shipments trying to get in there. the iraqi military trying to get in there. >> ivan watson was on a helicopter flying aid to the yazidi's trapped on the mountain. such an emotional moment bringing help to these people. that's going on there. you are seeing the pictures right now of ivan watson's trip to bring the aid there. the people in such bad need. >> if you want to see the desperation on the mountain top, there's ten minutes of video on cnn.com, ivan watson's trip. it shows you what we are talking about on the humanitarian side. i encourage you to take ten minutes to watch it. >> 11 minutes after the hour. breaking news overnight. an angry crowd filling the streets of a quiet missouri town, furious over the police shooting of a black teenager. new words from the teen's mother. >>> plus, severe storms flooding parts of t

nouri al-maliki eventually agreed to step down, and back a former rival, haider al-abadi in august. peshmerga forces joined iraqi troops in the battle against the islamic state, and for the control of the mosul dam. nouri al-maliki stepped down as prime minister and in his weekly address, as a caretaker prime minister, he called for all political parties to be involved in the formation of a new government. >> translation: the key principle informing the government how to maintain the political stability for the reason that security, construction, economic and social stability of all dependent on the political stability where there is no tension, division, anon imenties or struggle between the parliament and the government. this is what had in the past crippled the states and institutions from operating, giving fertile land and grounds for terrorism. >>> all right. let's go live to our correspondent zeina khodr in erbil in the north of the country, in the region dominated by the kurds. first of all, what did you make of nouri al-maliki making an appearance as a caretaker prime minist

so how -- and in what perspective is al abadi's position and what can he do? >> well, that is the big question. there is a lot of relieve now that maliki has gone. but there have been actually 16 people in the position of prime minister since the american invasion of iraq. none of whom could rule an inclusive way to bring the country together. certainly not after the american withdrawal and maliki clearly made a hash of things in iraq. as you point out, abadi is someone who was close to maliki. he was an adviser to al maliki. as far as the iranians go, they weren't necessarily committed to maliki. they were committed to those who they believe will advance and protect their interests in iraq. >> so considering the external geo politics at play and internal fractures and fissures, are we looking at a scenario where it's becoming more and more likely that iraq will spin off into these semiautonomous regions that have been discussed so widely, specifically with the kurds in the north who have been fighting with isis militants. is this becoming more of a reality no

it is a constitutional democracy, we cannot night a constitutional breach. >> abadi is the man who has been charged with saving iraq. he has a month to put together an inclusive government. he faces many challenges. not only does very to ensure that iraq's communities, sunnies, shias and kurds are represented, they have to feel that they have a say in governing the country. a eunt iraq is needed to counter a growing threat from the islamic state group. the government has all but collapsed. the u.s. air force has been targeting that group but resources are limited. those attacks are not enough unless they have partners on the ground. baghdad government needs support from if they are to retake territory from the islamic state group. but sunnies believe replacing a prime minister isn't enough. they want what they call a uniquely change. >> -- regime change. >> iranian influence has to end. iraqis need to return to the arab fold. the thousands of sunni prisoners need to be released and the coosh needs taccusation needs td thkushcoosandthe bl constitutioe reason he revamped. >> it is all in

it certainly could form behind the new prime ministerial candidate, haider al abadi.hink it's going to take more than just having a government in baghdad to have the execution and capacity to take on isis. the iraqi forces certainly are not ready to do that. the peshmerga forces in kurdistan are more unified and shown more success on the battlefield, but they really don't have the weapons right now to confront isis isis. they're outmanned, outgunned by isis. they've had some success now on the battlefield because they have air strikes giving them cover from the u.s. i think in conclusion it's really going to take outside help primarily from the u.s. hopefully from some of the other countries to work in cooperation with the peshmerga forces and the iraqi forces to defeat isis. >> we appreciate it your expertise and your time, david tafuri joining us from beirut. thank you. >> the white house is calling the execution of journalist james foley a terrorist attack on the united states and numerous countries have joined forces to find foley's killer. the uk is a focal point

and confront it with kurdish allies and others. >> you wrote that haider al-abadi is iraq's last chaps, that sectarian politics is turning iraq into lebanon or b siberia, and the hollowing out of iraq - you don't sound hopeful for haider al-abadi, even if he begins a campaign of national reconciliation. >> right. a concern i had for months and years, is americans under president bush and obama are willing to bet and stake our international security on individuals. leadership is important. the prime minister represents an change, but as i outlined in the new york times peace, the problems go beyond haider al-abadi. if you were to install a wonderful leader like nelson mandela, i'm not sure that he could overcome systematic failures within the iraqi political system because of the entrenched sectarianism and corruption, and the interference of powers like iran, to weaken iraq and keep it upped tehran's control. we had -- under tehran's control. we had two former ambassadors to iraq on the shot. both have been critical of the administration. the president took a break from vacation to mee

dr haider al-abadi said the right things. i was impressed in my conversation with him about his vision for an inclusive government. but they've got to get this done, because the wolf's at the door. in order for them to be credible with the iraqi people, they'll have to put behind some of the old practices and create a credible united government. when we see a credible iraqi government, we are then in a position to engage with planning not just with the iraqi government, but also with regional actors, and folks beyond the middle east, so that we can craft the kind of joint strategy, joint counterterrorism strategy that i discussed at west point, and i discussed several years ago at the national defense college. our goal is to have effective partners on the ground. if we have effective partners on the ground, mission creep is less likely. typically what happens with mission creep is when we start deciding that ber -- we are the ones that have to do it ourselves. that can work for a time. we learnt that in iraq. but it's not sus

and just 24 hours after nouri al-maliki agreed to stop down as iraq's prime minister, haider al-abadi has won the support of shiite cleric. will also be willing to take up arms against islamic state fighters. we'll have reaction from kristin saloomey, jane arath is in erbil in northern iraq. first zena hoder has a report. >> now that nouri al-maliki has relinquished control to a new prime minister. there are bombings nearly every day. people are hopeful that a transition of power will help bring back security. >> handing over the post to haider al-abadi is significant indication that nouri al-maliki is keying for the safety of iraqis and iraq. >> the cleric ali al sistani, now all eyes are on haider al-abadi, a new prime minister would has less than a month to form a new government. it will be a challenging task. maliki has been accused of consolidating power and aliena alienating sunnies. prominent sunni tribal leaders hold sway on the ground. they welcomed maliki's departure but says it will not prove to be the solution. >> translator: we are ready to cooperate with the new governme

we do not know a lot about À la body -- al-abadi.icans are bad about t in strategy is thininkig about multipiple opponents simultaneously. any steps we take working w with the iraqi government to deal with isis also has to be cognizant of iran over our shoulder. what can w we do to replace ira? >> it is a classic wicke problem, where you address one element and another pops up. >> like whack a mole.. works sort of. you tryy to fix it, and another thing pops up. people are aware of barbaric behavior, if there is something short-term you can get people to rally about, it goi against this group in a coordinated fashion. >> nuri maliki backed a democratic state io a regime that was politized. abadi a body hadr could gove a healthier iraqi state. that does not mean it will not be at war with the sunni arab and sunni turkmen community, and with othther elements within the shia community, and it does not mean it is not going to have a terribly difficult time staying out of the iranian regime's orbit. >> some of the best opportunity will be

. >> you mentioned the new prime minister al abadi replacing nuri al maliki.sident obama saying the government needs to form quickly and solidify so it can have a foot to stand on in its fight against isis. how is mr. haider al abadi doing? >> reporter: well, he's got about three weeks left to form a government. he says he's going to do this before the constitutional deadline to bring a government together. but, errol, it's a very tough task. in the past the negotiations to put together a government is a lengthy process that is really a lot of horse trading and negotiations that take place between the various political blocs and parliament. this is going to be more challenging because he needs to try to undo what nuri al maliki had done in the last for you years, which is creating tensions with the kurds, which has been alienating sunnis. he needs to try to regain trust, this is going to be different, a truly inclusive government not one where sunnis and kurds would be represented but not have much power. it's going to be a challenge for haider al abadi in the

he's scheduled to meet prime minister designate haider al-abadi, according to the iranian state news. the political development follows 24 hours of violence. three car bombs exploded in kirkuk. there has been coming in erbil, the capital of the semiautonomous region. the army and peshmerga are trying to fight off the islamic state, which controls parts of northern iraq and syria. jane arraf has more from erbil. >> security forces in the kurdish capital of erbil are on high alert following a rare explosion. a sticky bomb attached to the undercarriage of a car detonated on a main road in the city. this is the peshmerga fight, trying to retake territory from the islamic state group. one of the fronts is the town of jaluala, 20km from the iranian border in the province of diyala. iranian forces are said to have backed the kurdish fighters. the foreign minister arrived in baghdad for talks with his counterpart and congraduate the new prime minister-delegate. haider al-abadi is trying to contain the fall out of what is determined a massacre at a sunni mosque. that blamed on shia militia mem