Iraqis Nominate Maliki Successor, Causing Standoff --- BAGHDAD — Under heavy pressure from the United States, Iraqi lawmakers took a significant step on Monday by choosing a replacement for Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, widely blamed for their country’s polarized politics. But Mr. Maliki angrily rejected the move, vowing to fight in the courts and perhaps by use of force, throwing the country into new uncertainty even as it fights an onslaught by Sunni militants -- The change in leadership could help soothe Iraq’s sectarian fractures and unite the country under Mr. Maliki’s nominated successor, a member of his own Shiite party. But Mr. Maliki’s insistence that he is the rightful leader could just as easily tear Iraq further apart. -- Complicating the picture more was the United States, which helped orchestrate Mr. Maliki’s rise to power eight years ago but now holds him responsible for alienating the country’s Sunni minority and helping fuel the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the Sunni extremist group. Territorial gains by ISIS in the north prompted a new military intervention by the United States — and gave Washington fresh leverage to demand political changes in Baghdad. --- President Obama welcomed the nomination of a new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, interrupting his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard to announce in a televised statement that both he and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had congratulated Mr. Abadi on the phone, calling his nomination “an important step towards forming a new government that can unite Iraq’s different communities.” -- But Mr. Obama also reminded the Iraqis that America’s renewed military assistance — punctuated by the airstrikes that began pounding ISIS positions last week — was no solution to what he called the larger crisis in Iraq. “The only lasting solution is for Iraqis to come together and form an inclusive government,” he said. --- Although Mr. Maliki is widely reviled in Iraq, he remains a formidable force, with relatives who command special security forces, courts that are heavily shaped by his influence and a history of exacting revenge on his domestic opponents. Mr. Maliki’s stubbornness presents multiple challenges to the United States, which wants to preserve Iraq’s cohesion while helping to stop ISIS’ avowed goal of creating a monolithic Islamic caliphate that ignores national boundaries. -- Mr. Obama spoke after a day of high political drama in Baghdad, where Mr. Maliki appeared on state television and blamed the United States for “standing beside those who violated the Iraqi Constitution.” The stage was set for more drama in the coming days, as the new nominee works to form a government, and Mr. Maliki pursues his bid to remain in power through a legal challenge or, as some worry, the use of the military to guarantee his survival. “We will fix the mistake,” he said, without being specific. - Read More, NYTimes