Reuters/Baghdad

Three months after he took office with a mission to unite his broken, warring country, Iraq’s new prime minister has swept away the divisive legacy of his predecessor with a burst of rapid and dramatic measures.
But Haider al-Abadi faces a huge challenge forging a common front against Islamic State (IS) fighters, rebuilding an ineffective army and reasserting a degree of central government authority across Iraq.
Time is short and the battle to contain the militants who control swathes of territory is draining the country’s finances. Millions of people have been displaced and sectarian anger is growing.
Abadi has responded with a series of steps to improve the Shia-led government’s standing, not just with Iraqi Kurds and Sunni Arab tribes but also across borders with Gulf neighbours.
His successes include a deal last month with Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region on oil exports and budget payments, which followed months of dispute.
He has dismissed dozens of top army and security officers appointed by former premier Nuri al-Maliki, announced a campaign against corruption in the military, ordered curbs on arrests without a judge’s authorisation, and decreed the speeding up of the release of detainees when courts order them to be set free.
“His biggest achievement was his desire for change, to deal with the mistakes of the last eight years,” said former judge and minister Wael Abdulatif, referring to Maliki’s two terms in office.
After Maliki alienated Iraq’s Sunnis and Kurds by promoting hardline Shia interests, Abadi has tried to win over Iraq’s Sunni tribes whose western and northern heartlands have emerged as the core of IS power. He appointed a Sunni defence minister and has held talks with Sunni tribal leaders.
The moderate Shia Islamist has also tried to mend fences with Arab states across the Gulf, an effort which has not gone unnoticed in the region.
“What I heard and saw from the prime minister is frankly the difference between day and night (compared with) what we’ve known and what we’ve heard from the previous prime minister Maliki,” said UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan, shortly after visiting Baghdad last month.
Saudi Arabia is talking, once again, about reopening its embassy in Baghdad soon.
Abadi shocked many Iraqis last month when he said an investigation had found that at least 50,000 “ghost soldiers” were on the army payroll, taking salaries without showing up for duty and paying off officers who let them stay at home.
“He’s dismantled much of Maliki’s state,” said a senior Western diplomat in Baghdad, approvingly. “If you look at the achievements of this government, it delivers. But it must be given time.”
During his term in office, IS forces have been pushed back from Jurf al-Sakhr south of Baghdad and two towns near the Iranian border, while the militants’ five-month siege of Iraq’s largest oil refinery has been lifted.
But none of the political or military gains is irreversible. The job of imposing central authority remains, and some believe his momentum will stall.
“He started off well and he’s got the right approach, but a more positive attitude is not sufficient to put Humpty Dumpty together again,” said Kurdish regional government spokesman Safeen Dizayee, noting that Abadi may face discontent not just from outside but also among his own constituents.