Impasse in Iraq
Just one last thing before I "go" back to Africa today. Global Policy Forum has just-- with my permission-- put up on their website a short text I wrote for a private listserve yesterday, that draws together things I've been writing on JWN in the past ten days to provide an explanation of what's going on politically in Iraq.
It might seem a little circular if I put the whole text up here? But anyway, y'all can read it there and then come back and discuss it in the Comments zone here, if you so desire.
(I should note that since I wrote that, I've had a couple of further thoughts on the issue which would add further wrinkles to the analysis. But I totally need to get back to my Africa piece and I shan't come back to JWN until it's done... )
Helena, just curious -- is there any evidence of the US / UK tampering per se you could point us to? I know there's been some scattered coverage, but I haven't been able to find anything solid yet.
Mainly, I think it's there in plain sight: all the grousing by US officials in public and private about Jaafari, the putting-down of Jaafari, encouraging the anti-Jaafari campaigners, etc etc.
Corriere della serra via Nur al Cubicle:
US Planning Second Siege of Najaf to Capture al-Sadr
http://nuralcubicle.blogspot.com/2006/04/us-planning-second-siege-of-najaf-to.html
Alas, not enough for me to convince an ultra-conservative friend -- who is nonetheless a fairly open-minded guy. If you run into anything I could link to, please post!
vivion, when "our" ambassador in Iraq tells pols there that Pres. Bush "doesn't want, doesn't support, doesn't accept" Mr. Jaafari as the next prime minister... and performs all the other anti-Jaafari actions that have been reported, that's what i mean by "in plain sight".
How would your friend feel if such open political manipulation were attempted against a duly elected leader here in the US? (Yes, I know our election system is different, but the principle is the same.)
Of course, the same attempts to undermine duly elected leaders are being undertaken against the new Palestinian government, too.
As I understand it, it is not absolute law that Mr. Jaafari become the Prime Minister in the new government, it is merely tradition, and the most likely outcome, as his party got the most votes.
What is your point, WarrenW? Are you suggesting that this gives the Bush administration the right to interfere in the "democratic" process of "sovereign" Iraq?
...when "our" ambassador in Iraq...
...the "democratic" process of "sovereign" Iraq...
Among the many delightful rhetorical tics we find here on JWN, the use of scare quotes is my all-time "favorite." so "detached" and "sardonic!"
Vadim-
"Thanks" for your always insightful input.