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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Sunday, August 27, 2006

More violence in Iraq as Maliki drifts to irrelvance.

55 killed in Iraq today that were reported, but what I wanted to make note of is Maliki's increasing distance from the reality of his country.

First we have the "pact of honor" signed among the tribal chiefs who are becoming increasingly irrelevant against the rising militant tides of armed young men. The militias, both Shia and Sunni, are the new tribalism in Iraq.

Next, there's this quote,
"Violence has decreased and our security ability is increasing. We are not in civil war and will never be in civil war," Maliki told CNN in a recorded interview on Sunday. "What you see is an atmosphere of reconciliation."

And most frighteningly to me (same article,)
A top government official said Maliki planned to reshuffle his coalition cabinet just 100 days after it was formed because he wanted to root out disloyal or poorly performing ministers and rally factions behind his national reconciliation plan.

So, the plan is to take those who represent the militant factions and throw them out of the government to push forward efforts at reconciliation? I'm sure the militia groups will accept the expulsion and removal from the graft train with humility and grace.

Oh, right.

Maliki is becoming dangerously removed from the realities of his country. The people of Iraq no longer believe in him (if they ever did,) and as his weakness becomes more and more apparent, the outside possibility of a reconciliation in Iraq drifts away as well.

(Oh, and the Turks are still bombing the Kurdish regions in N. Iraq.)

2 Comments:

  • He's the Mayor of the Green Zone. And he, Bush, Rummy and Cheney all share the same reality.

    Jesus, this is an "atmosphere of reconciliation"? How does he say that shit with a straight face?

    I heard on Matthews this morning that the talk behind the scenes even among administration officials who inhabit some semblance of reality that partition is coming. Heck, "Kurdish Iraq" already seems out.

    I wonder if Imus' idea of taking Saddam out of his jail cell and putting him back in charge won't seem like a good idea before all this is said and done? Sure a contained Saddam was bad, but this mess we have now is much worse. Of course, war supporters like Lieberman and the administration apologists won't admit that.

    By Blogger Reality-Based Educator, at 5:39 PM  

  • Sistani's top spokesman the other day came out and blasted the ministers and "the government" for not travelling outside the green zone.

    And that quote dropped me as well.

    As for partition, I would put that on the table. I don't think it's a good idea as it could well cause regional war, but I don't know of any alternatives.

    And in the likely partition column, let me add this. No matter what you think of Sen Joe Biden, he's about as saavy as they come, and he's been jumping out in front of the partition possibility for awhile which leads me to believe that it is an option being seriously discussed.

    (And, I don't think Saddam could step back in with a now awake Shia majority. The only real choice is an Iranian friendly Shia. Also, as freedom is the last claimed rationale for the invasion, so how does that go down?)

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 5:49 PM  

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