All three points contradict reality. There were tribes — such as the Sunni Albo tribe — in Anbar that were always against the protests and the ensuing developments, and the opposition parties to Maliki called for the peaceful resolution of the sit-ins and did not back those up.
Finally, the Sunnis who were killed and displaced by IS exceed those from other communities; therefore, what happened cannot be described as a Sunni revolution against the Shiites.
In another speech, on the anniversary of the Popular Mobilization Units June 13, Maliki seemed to have a strong belief in the conspiracy theory that the fall of Mosul at the hands of IS was brought about by internal parties — such as the Kurds and the Mosul Provincial Council — to overthrow his government. He clearly said that the denial of the conspiracy is a conspiracy in itself.
Before that, in a TV interview June 7, Maliki criticized the opposition to his third term.
Maliki's recent statements raised different reactions in the Iraqi street. His supporters welcomed his thoughts and the idea of sectarian division in Iraq. But many of the Iraqi elites have criticized his remarks and considered them divisive and contrary to the reality.
In another context, Maliki introduced himself as a champion of the idea of founding the Popular Mobilization Unitss and their spiritual leader on several occasions, most notably in his interview with Afak satellite TV channel on March 15: “I am the one who established the Popular Mobilization Units, and their establishment is a strategy that I have been speaking of for a long time.
When the events took place [in reference to the emergence of IS], I addressed the Iraqi people and called on them to join the military forces.”
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