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Democratization of Iraq
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angaq0k
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Jun 7, 2004, 09:02 PM
 
Interestingly France is pushing for more democracy in Iraq than the U.S. and even Iraq itself:

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and Britain on Monday rejected an attempt to give Baghdad a virtual veto over major American military operations after the occupation ends officially on June 30.

A new draft of the resolution, the fourth in two weeks, makes few substantial changes and ignores a proposed amendment by France asking for explicit language in the resolution, rather than side letters, on Iraqi control over sensitive U.S.-led military campaigns.

The revised resolution, obtained by Reuters, does strengthen language on Iraqi sovereignty throughout. It also attempts to accommodate Russia's request for an international conference by saying the U.N. Security Council would consider one if Iraq requested it.

The United States and Britain hope to put the draft to a vote on Tuesday after further Security Council consultations later on Monday. The resolution would give international endorsement to an interim Iraqi government and authorize a U.S.-led multinational force to keep the peace.
And

US won't set date for army to quit Iraq

Monday 07 June 2004, 17:24 Makka Time, 14:24 GMT

Myers expects Iraq security situation to improve

US President George Bush's chief military adviser General Richard Myers has said he is unable to provide a date for the withdrawal of occupation forces from Iraq.

"How long will probably depend on events, I don't think we can put a date on it," Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in the western German city of Wiesbaden on Monday.

"I don't think we can put an official date on it, but clearly we would expect the security to improve as we move towards elections this fall or early next year in Iraq," he said.
At the same time, it seems easy to set a date to give all powers to a provisory government.

Yet,

Iraqi Foreign Minister Says Sovereignty Must Be "Unambiguous"

Friday, June 4, 2004

By Jim Wurst
U.N. Wire

UNITED NATIONS_�_The foreign minister of the new Iraqi interim government_�_while admitting his government will continue to need the presence of international troops in Iraq_�_asked the Security Council yesterday to adopt "a new and unambiguous resolution that underlines the transfer of full sovereignty to the people of Iraq."

Hoshyar Zebari said the U.S.-British draft resolution on the June 30 transfer of authority, which is before the council, needs to be amended "so the resolution may correspond more fully to the wishes and aspirations of the Iraqi people."_ In the discussion that followed his presentation, however, he gave few specifics as to how the text should be revised.

"This resolution must mark a clear departure from previous (resolutions) that legitimized the occupation of our country," he said._ "By removing the label of occupation we will deprive the terrorists and anti-democratic forces of a rallying point to foment violence in our country."

British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said the text answers Zebari's concerns that "full sovereignty without any qualification in security dimension or elsewhere will pass to the people of Iraq."

The interim government was established on Tuesday, largely reflecting the views of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, which dissolved itself after the government was named._ The draft resolution is meant to give a legal imprimatur to the government and to the continued presence of the multinational force (MNF) in the country after June 30.

On the central issue of security, Zebari said Iraqis have been "working very hard to re-establish" their own security forces, "however, we have yet to reach the stage of being able to maintain our own security and therefore, the people of Iraq need and request the assistance of multinational forces to work closely with Iraqi forces."

The draft resolution is not specific on the relationship between the government and the MNF, such as what kind of control the government might have over MNF operations and how the foreign troops would work with Iraqi forces._ The language proposed by the United States and United Kingdom says that such matters will be spelled out later in an exchange of letters between the government and the MNF.

"It is an objective reality in Iraq today that we require the continued assistance and partnership of these troops," said Zebari._ "But we also need this presence to be regulated under arrangements that neither compromise the sovereignty of the interim government nor the right of the multinational force to defend itself."_

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte, who will be the ambassador to Iraq after the transfer, said, "In the days ahead, my government and our multinational force partners will engage the incoming Iraqi government on a broad range of issues, and in particular, on the nature of the security partnership between the multinational force and the Iraqi people."

Other council members said they wanted these issues specified in the draft itself, not in letters over which the council would have no influence._ "It is not sufficient to decree that there will be partnership between the government of Iraq and the MNF," said Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere of France._ "This partnership must be defined in the resolution."
Comments?
( Last edited by angaq0k; Jun 7, 2004 at 09:08 PM. )
"******* politics is for the ******* moment. ******** equations are for ******** Eternity." ******** Albert Einstein
     
angaq0k  (op)
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Jun 7, 2004, 09:31 PM
 
America could kill Iraq democratically

This is an opinion from a Pakistani regarding potential issues with the democratization of Iraq.

Like the old Pakistan, Iraq is a quilt of unintegrated ethnic communities. In 1896, the British Empire engineered the secession of Kuwait from Basra, then an Ottoman province, to use Kuwait's excellent harbor for British shipping. After World War I the British first colonized the Arab-inhabited Basra and Baghdad provinces of the dismembered Ottoman Empire and then annexed the oil-rich Mosul Province, with its mostly Kurdish population.

As a result, three separate feuds have been stalking postcolonial Iraq. First, the Iraqis have twice tried unsuccessfully to reconquer Kuwait - the last time in 1990 under Saddam Hussein. Second, the Kurds have carried on an autonomy movement that many Arabs suspect is aimed at secession. Third, the Shiite majority has been struggling to end Sunni Arab domination of Iraq, established under British patronage and pursued by successive Sunni-led regimes.

The Iraqis may try again to "bring Kuwait back home," but that is unlikely to happen anytime soon. A Parliament might also well work out a formula for intra-Arab (Shiite-Sunni) power sharing.

Far more intractable is the Kurdish issue. Britain once dragged unwilling Kurds into Iraq, but after the 1991 Gulf War, America and Britain pulled them away from Iraqi control and protected them for 12 years under a so-called "no-fly zone." During two research trips in the 1990s, I found Kurds savoring their de facto independence. A majority of those I interviewed said they might reunify with Iraq if guaranteed "autonomy," which meant different things to different people. A minority wanted an independent "Kurdistan."
Democracy enthusiasts in Washington don't seem to realize that elections aren't the panacea for all the problems of all peoples (anymore than some Islamic fundamentalists realize that Islam can't solve all problems for all Muslims). America's founding fathers knew better and allowed 55 unelected men to draw up the American Constitution.

A good format to seek a resolution of the Iraqi Kurdish issue could be a conclave of key Kurdish and Arab leaders, and a good time to hold one is now. The United Nations could host such a forum to see if an understanding can be reached. The new Iraqi Parliament could incorporate such an understanding into the country's constitution next year.
"******* politics is for the ******* moment. ******** equations are for ******** Eternity." ******** Albert Einstein
     
dcolton
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Jun 14, 2004, 12:11 AM
 
My name is Angq0k. I have nothing better to do than look for anti-American news and post it on MacNN so I can feel good about being a canuck
     
   
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