THE WORLD PORTAL

John McCain is the senior senator of US from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 US election. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and became a naval aviator. During the Vietnam War, he was badly injured and lost his wife in USS Forrestal fire. In bombing mission, he was captured by the North Vietnamese and send him in prison. McCain suffered a lot of torture in prison. He retired from navy in 1981 and entered into Politics. In 1982, he was elected to U.S. House of representatives and elected to elected to the U.S. Senate in 4 times. He is also known for his work towards restoring diplomatic relations with Vietnam and for his belief that the war in Iraq should be fought to a successful conclusion. In 2008 US presidential election, he was defeated by Barack Obama. He was born in Panama Canal Zone, Panama as the son of naval officer John S. McCain, Jr. and Roberta McCain. All of his family members are naval employees. He set his sights on becoming a Congressman because he was interested in current events, was ready for a new challenge, and had developed political ambitions as a senator. His personal character has been a dominant feature of his public image. This image includes the military service of both himself and his family. He is married two times. First he married to Carol Shepp and they have one child. Later they divorced. Then he married to Cindy Lou Hensley and they have 3 children. Also he adopted three children.

Nouri al-Maliki is the prime minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. He charged as prime minister in 2006 and laying the foundation for the country’s first fully constitutional government. He started his politics as a Shiite dissident under Saddam Hussein’s regime. He fled Iraq after hearing the government of Saddam Hussein planned to execute him. During his time abroad he became a senior leader of Dawa, coordinated the activities of anti-Hussein guerillas and built relationships with Iranian and Syrian officials. He was born in Abu Gharaq. He got bachelor’s degree at Usul al-Din College in Baghdad, and a master’s degree in Arabic literature from Baghdad University. In 1960, he joined the Dawa party. In 2005 parliamentary elections, Ibrahim al-Jaafari elected as the prime minister. However, he faced many criticisms in his leadership and he removed from leadership. Then al-Maliki was named as prime minister. Both Maliki and Jaafari are belonged to Dawa, but the US favored Maliki because it felt that Jaafari was closer to US rival, Iran. As prime minister, he had been criticized for taking too long to name permanent Interior and Defense ministers. On December 30, 2006, Maliki signed the death warrant of Saddam Hussein. He improved security situation in many parts of the country. When 14 Iraqis were shot and killed by Blackwater USA security guards Maliki called on the US embassy to stop working with the company. He holds many positions like head of the “security committee” at the Iraqi National Assembly, spokesman for the Iraqi Unified Coalition, member of the Sovereignty Committee at the National Assembly.