Stephen Hadley’s Memo On Maliki

Someone in the administration leaked a memo drafted by Stephen Hadley on the low confidence the Bush administration has in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. Among the suggestions for consolidating the flagging government:

¶Compel his ministers to take small steps — such as providing health services and opening bank branches in Sunni neighborhoods — to demonstrate that his government serves all ethnic communities;

¶Bring his political strategy with Moktada al-Sadr to closure and bring to justice any JAM actors that do not eschew violence;

¶Shake up his cabinet by appointing nonsectarian, capable technocrats in key service (and security) ministries;