Given how bad Iraq has fared on his watch this is probably for the best. The biggest concern now, of course, is whether the guy replacing him will do any better.
Via CNN:
Nuri al-Maliki says he is stepping down as Iraq’s leader, but true to form, he’s doing it on his own terms.
Al-Maliki announced Thursday on Iraqi state-run television that he was withdrawing his candidacy for a third term and endorsing the Prime Minister-designate, effectively ending his fight to keep his post.
“I announce to you today that I am withdrawing my candidacy in deference to my brother, Haider al-Abadi, in the highest interest of the country,” he said.
But al-Maliki will continue to serve as the country’s caretaker Prime Minister for at least the next 30 days, the deadline for the parliament to form a new government.
The news — first flashed on state television — follows mounting pressure, at home and abroad, for al-Maliki to step aside and make way for someone to bridge the sectarian divide that many accuse him of fomenting.
The move comes at a critical time in Iraq as Sunni fighters with the so-called Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, force hundreds of thousands from their homes as they seize large swaths of land.