That is what they have now -- political power from the barrel of an American gun.
You act like the IGC is a puppet government.. That's hardly the case. In fact, even right now we're in disagreement with the IGC over getting the UN more involved in Iraq. We've sent over a White House representative to "encourage" the IGC to permit the UN more involvement...
Isn't that what you wanted? For Bush to expedite getting the UN involved? So if the IGC was just a "puppet", they'd hardly be offering any resistance to the idea, now would they?
washingtonpost.com
White House Sends Senior Official to Iraq
Aim Is to Salvage Latest Bid to Form a Government
By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 13, 2004; Page A10
The Bush administration has dispatched a senior White House official to Baghdad to rescue its already troubled new attempt to form an interim Iraqi government, the pivotal step in the political transition before the U.S.-led occupation ends on June 30, according to senior U.S. officials.
The mission is, in part, to persuade the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council to quit stalling on inviting the United Nations back, both to mediate a solution to the immediate crisis and to help prepare for elections after the United States leaves. Key Shiite leaders have broken with others on the Governing Council and are frustrating U.S. attempts to get the United Nations to return, U.S. officials and envoys of coalition countries said.
The White House official is scheduled to arrive in Iraq this weekend for meetings with the U.S.-handpicked council to jumpstart the process, after L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of Iraq, and other coalition officials failed to end the squabbling, U.S. officials said. At the administration's request, The Washington Post is not identifying the official before his arrival in Iraq because of security concerns.
The ability of the United States to end the occupation now depends on crafting a caretaker government that would be deemed credible by major ethnic and religious groups. Two previous plans had to be discarded after they were rejected by Iraq's most popular Shiite cleric and other leaders.
Last month, the Bush administration thought it had come up with a viable alternative by proposing to bring the United Nations back in, only to see a minority of council members stall -- partly in a bid to give the United States no choice but to hand over power to the current council, U.S. and coalition diplomats said.
"We definitely think the United Nations has an important role to play," said a senior administration official involved in Iraq policy. "Many Iraqis on the Governing Council agree with that, but some on the council don't for a variety of reasons."
The power dynamics are rapidly changing as the occupation moves into its final phase. The closer the transition gets to June 30, the more leverage council members feel they would have -- and the weaker they believe the coalition would be in forcing them to comply, U.S. officials say. The problem is already being referred to by administration officials as "June 30-itis."
Ironically, U.S. officials noted, the United States is now more in sync with the United Nations on the steps necessary for the transition than it is with some members of the Governing Council.
With less than four months left in the occupation, the United States wants U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to return to Iraq within two or three weeks to discuss how to form a new government. The approach favored by the United States is to enlarge the Governing Council by adding members to be selected by a "roundtable meeting" or, in Arabic, a shura of Iraqis outside the council who are not viewed as surrogates of the U.S.-led coalition, U.S. officials said.
"Brahimi's ready to go back as soon as he's invited," said a senior State Department official familiar with the standoff.
But, now, at least five Shiite members of the Governing Council are reluctant to give the United Nations a management role, U.S. officials said. The main reason is concern that they might either lose their jobs or see their power diluted as new members are added. Some Shiite members also did not like the tone of Brahimi's report last month that was implicitly critical of the council, U.S. officials said.
"Bremer has been talking to the Iraqis about getting the United Nations back. It would be good if the Iraqis would ask the U.N. to help out. They haven't done it yet, so we continue to talk to them. Bremer's got his hands full," the senior State Department official said.
But the United States also wants the Iraqi council to invite the United Nations to take the lead in organizing Iraq's first national elections, due to be held by year's end, according to a new interim constitution signed last week. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has stipulated that Iraq must make a formal request and has noted that time is running out.
A preliminary U.N. assessment last month estimated that preparations -- for a census, voter registration, civic education, party formation, candidate selection, campaigning and a vote -- would take at least eight months. To meet its own deadline, the United Nations would have to be ready to operate in Iraq by the end of April, seven weeks away.
The world body currently has no diplomats in Iraq. Two suicide bombings at its Baghdad headquarters, in August and October, killed about two dozen staff members, including top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. Just getting up and running could take several weeks, U.S. officials and envoys from coalition countries say
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Hardly the actions of an illegitimate "puppet" government..
Hawk |
