[December 23, 2017] Popularity is not leadership at all and saying a leader needs it to get things done is a myth. In fact, the popularity of leaders is not a prerequisite for good leadership but it can help get one’s agenda through.1 In the country of Iraq, the most popular man is Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi who oversaw the defeat of the terror group ISIS that conquered a third of the country just three years ago.2
The defeat of the Islamic State (aka ISIS) is a major strategic accomplishment of the Iraqis; something most of us in the Western world completed missed. This past Sunday, a special parade was given to celebrate victory over the terror group. The last area held by ISIS in the western region of Iraq was liberated, marking the end of the war.
Like other good leaders, Prime Minister al-Abadi knows this does not spell the end of ISIS but he does know two important things. First, elimination of ISIS governance in captured territory means there must be a concerted effort to reestablish democratic institutions and the reintroduction of the terror-subjugated population. Second, where Iraq will be headed over the next few years as ISIS enters a new and deadly guerilla phase means more resources will have to be allocated.
Prime Minister al-Abadi is a smart man. His enlistment of Iranian soldiers to assist in the removal of ISIS was a major accomplishment despite the fact that Iran now has greater influence in the region. Iran is a major supporter of terrorism around the world and a headache for most of the West. This will strain the Iraq-Western relationship but it should not be a major impediment to improved economic conditions.
This is where the leadership of al-Abadi comes in. He has shown his intelligence (he has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering) and wisdom on many occasions. For example, he protested the Coalition Provisional Authority privatization plan in 2003 that would have put state-owned companies into private hands before Iraq could form a government. Many decisions by Paul Bremer proved to be detrimental to Iraq and al-Abadi was there to give advice.
The country of Iraq and Prime Minister Haider al_Abadi should be congratulated for accomplishing something that was not predicted as little as two years ago. The strategic decision to quickly withdraw U.S. troops in 2011 on a publicly-announced timetable was a strategic blunder by U.S. President Obama. Fortunately, leaders in Iraq were able to recover.
That is why al-Abadi is the most popular man in Iraq.
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- https://www.theleadermaker.com/leader-popularity/
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-parade/iraq-holds-victory-parade-after-defeating-islamic-state-idUSKBN1E407Z