A Democracy in Iraq?
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| Sun, 09-05-2004 - 10:50am |
From AP: ' In Baghdad, mortar rounds landed near a convention center where members of Iraq's 100-member transitional assembly, known as the Iraqi Council, gathered for a meeting. Despite the explosions, delegates elected four vice chairmen of the National Council, which is intended to act as a watchdog over the interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi until the election. '
Ash-Sharq al-Awsat says that the council first voted by a strong majority to alter the original plan of having two vice-chairs, increasing the number to four. 92 of the 100 members were present, and 12 persons put themselves forward for the offices. The winners (with vote tallies) were:
Jawad al-Maliki, Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Shiite) - 56
Hamid Majid Moussa, Communist Party, - 55
Rasim al-Awadi, Iraqi National Accord (Allawi's Party) - 53
Nasir A`if al-Ani, Iraqi Islamic Party (Sunni) - 48
Al-Maliki at least used to be a Khomeinist radical. The Iraqi Islamic Party is a Sunni fundamentalist outfit, the leader of which has denied that there is a Shiite majority in Iraq. The INA groups mainly ex-Baath officers and officials.
So, this list is further evidence that the US invaded Iraq to install in power a coalition of Communists, Islamists and ex-Baathist nationalists. If you had said such a thing 3 years ago you would have been laughed at.

"install in power a coalition of Communists, Islamists and ex-Baathist nationalists"
Unbelievable!!! Ironic.
OT I read further down the page, of the link you posted. It pertains to the Time article I just posted
Maybe that same person's still around, writing editorials. Fortunately, we had a resolute president named Truman, who with the American people persevered, knowing that a new democracy at the center of Europe would lead to stability and peace. And because that generation of Americans held firm in the cause of liberty, we live in a better and safer world today."
-President George W. Bush
Yes, Juan Cole has a blog, so it is chronological and not topical. I see the issues as separate. I went to look for other threads on Iraq, but they were about the conflict in Najaf.
Iraq: The Bungled Transition
by Peter W. Galbraith, The New York Review of Books
September 23rd, 2004
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=6620
Two paragraphs:
"Within days of his designation as prime minister, Allawi spoke openly of postponing Iraq's elections and he gave himself the authority to impose martial law. In early August, he closed down al-Jazeera's Baghdad bureau in retaliation for unfavorable coverage. Meanwhile, the Bush administration quietly let Iraq's interim constitution —the so-called Transitional Administrative Law—expire stillborn, along with its much-ballyhooed protec-tions for human rights, women, and democracy.
The administration seems to be gambling that Allawi can mobilize sufficient Iraqi force against the insurgents so that coalition troops will stop dying at the current frightening rate. It is a measure of how far America's once grand ambitions for Iraq have diminished that security has become more important than democracy for a mission intended not only to transform Iraq but with it the entire Middle East."
Just remember that you posted the Australian link to Allawi's killing of insurgents. This article also gives information on his ruthless background.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq%20Attack
Tuesday, September 7, 2004 · Last updated 12:45 a.m. PT
Iraq governor survives assassination bid
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An explosion targeted the Baghdad governor's convoy as he was traveling through the capital Tuesday, killing two people but leaving him uninjured, the Interior Ministry said.
Gunmen opened fire on the convoy seconds before the explosion, hoping to direct Gov. Ali al-Haidri's convoy toward the blast, Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdel Rahman.
Three of his bodyguards were hurt in the attack in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Hay al-Adel, al-Haidri said.
"The people behind this attack want to hurt Iraq and to hinder the progress in this country," he said.
The governor's BMW appeared intact, but a car next to it was totally burned. The bomb made a small crater in the pavement and the street. One person was sprawled out in the street.
Police blocked the area and prevented people from getting close to the cars.
Rahman said that a car bomb caused the blast, but al-Haidri said it was a roadside bomb.
(SUBS to correct location of blast from eastern to western Baghdad, adds details.)