The "coup" against Maliki is a political coup, with Maliki's fellow Shiites turning against him.
Maliki responded with calling in the military to protect him in his position, which would be a "counter coup," a well-known concept. He is also trying to block the government from replacing him, also a counter coup. This isn't rocket science.
Widely accused of a partisan obstinacy that has fueled the communal violence tearing Iraq apart, the Shi'ite Muslim premier went on television late on Sunday to denounce the ethnic Kurdish president for delaying the constitutional process of naming him prime minister following a parliamentary election in late April.
But fellow Shi'ites nominated Haider al-Abadi, a long-time Maliki ally, in his place as the struggle for the premiership descended into judicial wrangling and a power play on the streets of the beleaguered capital, where militias and special forces seen as loyal to Maliki took up strategic positions.
http://www.reuters.com/...
Again, Maliki responded by calling in the military to block this "political coup" from being formalized, and to protect himself from the backlash that will happen when his political allies realize he is seizing power outside the "existing government" structure, the classical definition of a coup, see at bottom for definition.
Special forces teams and army tanks surrounded the Green Zone housing Iraq’s government as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fiercely clung to power Sunday, taking the stability of the country to the brink at a moment when it is already facing a lethal challenge from radical Islamist fighters.
In actions that had all the markings of a political coup, Maliki gave a defiant late-night speech in Baghdad saying he would lodge a legal case against the country’s president, who has resisted naming him as the candidate for another term as prime minister.
Tanks rumbled onto major bridges and roads in the capital as security forces were put on high alert, with militiamen also patrolling Shiite neighborhoods. The special forces teams surrounding the Green Zone were taking orders directly from the prime minister, security officials said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Bolded because some diarist is trying to say there aren't reports of a coup.
I would like to know the motives of the diarist who is trying to downplay what is happening in Iraq?
Full Definition of COUP D'ÉTAT
: a sudden decisive exercise of force in politics; especially : the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group
http://www.merriam-webster.com/...