Iraqi Parliament voted 142 to 102 on Thursday, August 25, to withdraw confidence from the Defence Minister, Khaled al-Obeidi. Corruption charges concerning a weapons contract were the official reason behind the no-confidence motion, but the personal conflict between al-Obeidi and parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi was the primary driver. The resignation of defence minister would leave two most important security posts in the government empty, as the Interior Minister resigned in July.

Parliament’s decision resulted from personal feuds and mutual corruption accusation. During the debate, al-Obeidi touted his achievements in fighting corruption in the army and claimed that such charges are a retaliation for his actions in this regard. The minister also pointed to a former Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, as the person responsible for weakening the army. Reacting to graft charges, al-Obeidi’s rival, al-Juburi, agreed to have his immunity lifted only to have the case dropped in a matter of hours by a special court.

Jassem Hanoun, an Iraqi defence analyst, argues that the timing of the vote could not be worse, citing the approaching start of the Mosul offensive. However, Iraqi politicians argue that preparations for the offfensive are at a very late stage and thus will not be interrupted by a minister’s resignatin. The American envoy to anti-ISIS coalition, Brett McGurk shares this assessment. The Iraqi army is systematically taking strategic positions around Mosul, while Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi promised to liberate the city by the end of the year.

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