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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (172489)	7/5/2006 9:41:33 AM
From: Constant Reader	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793717

By the way, Bolivia had an election this week as well. All four of the nine states given a choice independently overwhelmingly voted for more autonomy from the central government. I understand that some would like to secede if they could. At the same time President Morales apparently fell far short of getting the numbers needed in a new constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution, something that his friend, Hugo Chavez, easily accomplished in Venezuela through vote-rigging and outright voter intimidation.

To: Lane3 who wrote (172489)	7/5/2006 12:01:31 PM
From: Constant Reader	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793717

On another subject- going out on a limb (which someone will undoubtedly saw off soon): The troop draw-down in Iraq started quietly some time ago and will accelerate through the Fall. I can't find it now, but I ran across an interesting website documenting the net removal of military equipment/materiel from Iraq in recent months. After three years of occupation, the government is formed, the local forces are apparently as well-trained as they probably ever will be, and what happens from here on out will increasingly decided by the Iraqi government with assistance from the U.S. and its remaining forces rather than the other way around. The current effort to secure Baghdad is a prime example. If the Iraqi government can reasonably secure the capital and protect the oil fields, it has the money to operate and "buy peace" where necessary, even if large parts of the country become less safe or slip into anarchy. JMO, of course. YMMV.