"The arrests were certainly undertaken by the Iraqi security forces, with the knowledge of the central government. In the end, the prime minister knew about them," the U.S. official said.
The Islamic Party accused Maliki's office of deliberately detaining prominent party members, including a candidate for governor in the upcoming January elections.
U.S. officials believe there is no grand sectarian scheme for the arrests, seeing instead a series of overreactions by Maliki based on his ingrained suspicions.
"I suspect these are less motivated politically than they are motivated by an almost knee-jerk reaction on security concerns," the U.S. official said. "The Sunnis are road kill, and probably largely because the prime minister does not trust them."
Askari portrayed the prime minister's military campaigns and policy decisions as nothing less than saving the country from disintegration.
"Without a strong Iraqi government," he warned, "Iraq will be fragmented."
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ned.parker@latimes.com
