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Bill Clinton...,
2003-06-26 14:08:39
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Mission 'screw the troops' accomplished...,
2003-06-30 13:11:41
You say you want a liberation:
but the USG halts elections and installs a military regime instead - this is the second time moves towards some limited degree of Iraqi self-rule have been shelved. From the perspective of Iraqis who distrust the exiled opposition groups that Washington was originally planning to install the generals might be somewhat better, but you'd think they could do something a little more original than just appoint the military - like letting communities elect their own leaders. Bremer overturned decisions by American officials on the ground to hold local elections. Maybe in one or two years, when they finally find a lackey they can force on them.
The justifications: Iraqis might elect Baathists - it's apparently better to appoint them; Iraqis might elect Shi'ites - who are often as not opposed to Iranian-style theocracy (not unlike the Iranians); Iraqis might elect "rejectionists" - meaning people who are opposed to the USG running their country. All three of these conditions are ludicrous, the majority of Iraqis are either Baathist or Shi'ite, and while they might be putting up with US occupation they're not at all happy about the results. And then there's the justification that Iraqis might not be able to provide security - something the Americans haven't been able to do in either Iraq or Afghanistan, and while the blanket dissolution of Iraqi security and defense agencies frees up military generals for their new Amercan appointments it doesn't really help with the security issue. All I'm seeing is an active effort to undermine the potential for self-rule.
In the meantime Bremer is slashing the Iraqi budget to "make it ready for competitive markets" by creating mass unemployment, and saying recent attacks haven't hindered reconstruction efforts, which makes me wonder what has.
"I have confidence in the future of a free Iraq. The Iraqi people are fully capable of self-government."
:: posted by buermann @ 2003-06-30 02:35:11 CST |
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