BAGHDAD, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- After stationing in Iraq for seven years and a half, U.S. troops are only one day away from a complete end of their combat mission in the Middle East country.
The war has failed to bring democracy and prosperity that the Bush administration had promised. Instead, Iraqis are now suffering from political impasse, economic stagnation, uninsured security.
POLITICAL STANDSTILL
Following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, the United States set up the Coalition Provisional Authorities to govern the country. Powers were then transferred to an interim government in June 2004 along with a new constitution coming into effect.
The interim government was later succeeded by the Transitional Government in May 2005. The first permanent government of national unity was inaugurated a year later.
Iraq is a multi-ethnic nation with three major ethnic groups: Sunni and Shiite Muslims and Kurds.
Due to political and religious differences, sectarian violence, which was pressed hard under the rule of Saddam Hussein, began to surge between the three groups.
Conflicting interests have triggered a turf war to fight over political representation and has led to a five-month standstill of forming a new government since the parliamentary election this March.
A Sunni-backed cross-sectarian coalition led by ex-premier Iyad Allawi won two more seats than incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite-led alliance in the election, but neither of them had a majority needed to govern. Coalition talks have gone nowhere.
The UN Security Council urged the newly elected Iraqi parliament to end disputes and form a government as soon as possible.
