The handover that became a shambles

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=526332


The handover that became a shambles: ten U-turns on the road to 'peace'
Part one:The appointment of an interim Prime Minister who used to work for the CIA is one of a series of disastrous policy changes by the US. By Justin Huggler and Rupert Cornwell
30 May 2004


The Prime Minister

The appointment of Iyad Allawi as Iraq's interim Prime Minister this weekend was being seen as an American-backed coup which wrong-footed Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations envoy supposed to be putting together the interim government which will wield "sovereignty" after 30 June.

The more that is learnt, however, about the sudden emergence of Mr Allawi, a man close to the CIA and MI6, the more it appears the appointment of the new government has been hijacked by the ambitious politicians of the Iraqi Governing Council - the very body it was meant to replace. The only question is whom the IGC was conspiring with as its members picked jobs for themselves.

But whatever the answer, the appointment of Mr Allawi is the culmination of a series of spectacular U-turns that has given President George Bush and his administration the appearance of lurching in a panic from one flawed policy on Iraq to the next. Since last November every decision seems to have been taken with an eye to one political event alone: Mr Bush's bid for re-election this November.

Originally, it was Ahmad Chalabi the Americans - and in particular Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon - appeared to be grooming as their future tame man in Baghdad, but in recent weeks Mr Chalabi has fallen from grace in Washington. He has now been accused of deliberately duping the US and Britain into war with false intelligence about Iraq's non-existent weapons of mass destruction; some even allege he did at the behest of Iranian intelligence.

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read it earlier today. :)

that have taken place in US policy in Iraq since the invasion began.

I would make one slight editing change to the following:

...the appointment of Mr Allawi is the culmination of a series of spectacular U-turns that has given President George Bush and his administration the appearance of lurching in a panic from one flawed policy on Iraq to the next.

It's more than an appearance; in actuality, they are lurching in a panic.

are, it is almost impossible to believe that so many people still support it. And if the nitwits that do support bush* (or Diebold) put him in for another term, they just may find out what a compassionate Christian the dumbass is, as they are standing in the breadlines with the rest of us.

This place will be just one great big tent city, except for the corporate executives and their mansions surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. And Iraq will be a cinder block. Or maybe I'm not seeing the big picture clearly enough and the smarmy bastard WILL bring on the Armegeddon. As Judy Tenuda (?) used to say, "It could happen".

"it is almost impossible to believe that so many people still support it.

Most Americans are politicaly ignorant and simplistic. GW Bush is, as well, plus he is personable, so say many. Many Americans buy into the simplistic mantra of this shallow dolt. America to them is on the side of right and good. Anything that interfeers with that concept is blocked from their simplistic thinking.

Right now the domestic scene is a haze to most Americans because the Media is focusing on this misguided, foolish War On Terror. Bushco is devastating the Middle Class, destroying the environment and nuetering social programs and bankrupting state financial funds. This has been shoved into the background as the noise of War is trumpeted.

one who harped on Chalabi and the need to break away from him......now,
we have this cousin of Chalabi in place and the IGC is playing musical chairs. Nothing has changed....so I guess Clark will be on this one, right, Kerry campaign??????? I hope!

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0404/05/asb.00.html

...the military cannot succeed in quelling this. Ultimately, it requires a political solution, which means a political strategy, which means first coming to terms with the fact that the Shia are the majority in Iraq. Ultimately they will be the most powerful force in shaping the future of the country.

The distribution of power among the factions in the Shia group has not been resolved. There's Iranian influence there. There are those who are more radical, those who are more moderate. We need to work with all of them, not with Chalabi and that's the problem.

COOPER: So by acknowledging, as you say, the Shia predominance in Iraq, are you basically indicating a desire to bolster say al- Sistani, other clerics other than Sadr because there is this internal battle going on among these Shiite clerics and there are some who say al-Sadr is basically making a move to sort of bolster his own position internally?

CLARK: Right. I think we need to be doing more with Sistani and what we need to do is get the conflict between them moved to a political level rather than resolved by force of arms. But to do that requires dealing with all of the contending parties, not showing our hands of favoritism too soon, leaving this up to the Iraqi people themselves to decide within certain broad guidelines.

In other words, it means you have to approach it by understanding that you cannot win this with a military strategy. There's no magic military strategy to keep people off the streets. You have to take the steam out of it by dealing with it politically.


See video on http://www.us4clark.com/mediaclips.html#js
"The General talks with Anderson Cooper about the possibility of civil war in Iraq. CNN (4/5/04)"

Or was that our old friend Chalabi?

Exiled Allawi (chosen PM of Iraq) was responsible for 45-minute WMD claim
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=526008