The US initiative to force Maliki from power in hopes a new leader with magically bring warring Iraq factions together is brain-dead and counter productive. Does anyone in DC ever actually think these things through before proposing them? A peaceful resolution now means all the players would have power within a new government, including  ISIS and Kurds. I’m guessing Washington would be horrified were that to actually happen. Further, there’s no way the warring factions could possibly co-exist now peacefully because underlying problems have not been resolved.
The Kurds want their own area. ISIS wants to control whatever it can grab. The Sunni vs Shia fratricide is not something that can be resolved in a few weeks. The US needs to let those in the Middle East solve their problems as all we’ve accomplished is to make things far worse than they were before our invasion based on lies.
Even if a new government forms, it will not be able to stop the fighting because it will have no real power. The Iraq Army deserted when ISIS advanced. And despite the bleatings of Obama and Kerry that darn it, you Iraqis just have to do something now, the schisms are too wide for peace to happen now.
“Those who call for him to step down, step aside, or otherwise quit are ignoring the clear message of the last election: most Shi’a want him to stay in place and crack down on a Sunni insurgency,” according to Daniel Serwer, a professor of conflict management at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.