Iraq's Al-Maliki reshuffles military leadership

 Iraqi Armed Forces A source from the office of the Adjutant General of the Iraqi Armed Forces said on Wednesday that the Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, as the highest military authority in the country, ordered leadership changes in Iraq's military and security divisions. The source, who asked to remain anonymous, told 'Arabstoday' that during the last meeting with leaders of the Iraqi army Al-Maliki appointed Lt. Gen. Farouk El-Araji, the head of the military section of Al-Maliki's office, to the post of army chief of staff in place of Lt. Gen. Babacar Zebari. The Prime Minister also appointed Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, the spokesman of the Baghdad Operations Command and military section of Al-Maliki's office, to the post of intelligence chief, the source said. Maj. Gen. Ahmed Abbadi, the commander of the sixth army division, was instead appointed to the post of commander of the ground forces in place of Lt. Gen. Ali Ghaidan.
"Al-Maliki also appointed the commander of the eighth division, Lt. Gen. Qais Muhammadawi, to the post of the commander of the sixth army division," the source added.
"Orders also included appointing the Deputy Commander in Karkh commander of the first division after appointing Brigadier General Muhammed Al-Azzawi commander of Nineveh Operations in place of Major General Basem Al-Taie. The commander of the fourth army division, Maj Gen Hamid Mohammed, was also nominated chief of operations in Rusafa in place of Lt. Gen. Abdul Karim Izzi, who will remain assistant commander of army chief of staff", the source continued.
The assignment of security posts is considered to mark one of the main differences between the coalition of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and that of  Nouri Al-Maliki.
The current Iraqi army consists of fourteen army divisions, mostly infantry made up of more than 300 soldiers, and includes at least 80 US Abrams tanks and 180 Hungarian and Russian tanks, most of which were received as aids from NATO in addition to hundreds of personnel carriers, heavy artillery and rocket launchers as well as a number of Russian and American helicopters and naval vessels in the port of Umm Qasr to protect the export of Iraqi oil.