The Formation of the Political Elite in Modern Iraq: The U.S. and Iranian Factors

... Iraqi government and the country’s ethnoreligious groups (mainly the Shiites and the Kurds). Iraq was under an embargo imposed by the United Nations at the time, which limited... ... security system. Despite having some political clout and a few ministerial posts, the Sunnis found themselves marginalized in the new situation and did not have influence... ... agree on a single candidate for president, which, again, exposed a division among the elites. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (Barzani clan, Erbil) nominated Fuad Hussein...