U.S. dropping plan for Iraqi caucuses

[Barrett808]

U.S. dropping plan for Iraqi caucuses
By Warren P. Strobel and Hannah Allam
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is abandoning its 3-month-old plan to select a new Iraqi government through a complex caucus system in the face of overwhelming opposition from the leading Shiite cleric and other Iraqis, senior U.S. officials said yesterday.

Instead, the administration, which is intent on sticking to the June 30 date for ending the American occupation of Iraq, is leaning toward handing over power by then to an interim, unelected body, officials said.

One option under discussion is to turn over sovereignty to an expanded version of the 25-member Iraq Governing Council, a U.S.-appointed body many Iraqis hold in low regard.

The development marks another major policy adjustment for the Bush administration in its efforts to install a stable, post-Saddam Hussein government in Iraq. It would rewrite a hard-won Nov. 15 agreement between U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer and Governing Council members.

(more)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001859822_iraq18.html

[a_random_joel]

1. The good news is

THe Iraqis get to determine their own form of "democracy".

The bad news is, yet again, the Bushies have folded like a cheap tent. This makes us safer, how?

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. A puppet government.

* says jump, they will jump.

[JitterbugPerfume]

5. * says jump

they say "how high"

[Minstrel Boy]

3. When I saw this headline,

I imagined the explanation for the cancellation of the Iraqi caucuses would be "the lack of a challenger to President Bush."

[arcane1]

4. great, another "interim" government

the Iraqis willl love that :eyes:

we hand-pick a few BFEE cronies to run the place, as iron-fisted as Saddam ever was, and proclaim success. Curious that we will still have troops there indefinitely, due to the surge of "terrorist" attacks on our puppet, I mean Interim, government

:eyes:

[RedEarth]

6. Bush is scrambling to get "something" in place before our GE in nov

[JPace]

7. The civil war drums are beating louder...

and the AWOL regime is getting scared.

The rats are abandoning the ship!

[Aidoneus]

16. why is everybody here memeing off "CIVIL WAR!" about everything?!

:shrug:

[yellowcanine]

8. I, for one, take great comfort that "the adults are in charge."

Unlike in that previous administration (CLINTON'S COCK!!!!).

[qwertyMike]

18. Oh yes, Daddy's Boy with a silver spoon up his ass

My wife's sister tells me she likes a crooked 'thingy'.

And wasn't Monika some kinda entrepreurness!!!!!!???? Tellin' them folks out west she was gonna don the presidential kneepads and DO IT.

She succeeded, and not only that - she came "FIRST!!!!!!!!!!" - and the Cigar thing was a nice touch,.


Very nice.


:9

[Ernesto]

9. QUAGMIRE

[Sagan]

10. Oh, Sistani will LOVE this, I'm sure...

Given several options, ChimpCo has brilliantly picked the worst one.

[Aidoneus]

15. he opposes the caucus idea, AND an unelected provisional gov't

I don't see why they're risking annoying him as they are--he's notoriously passive, but events have stirred his interest and even he's been poking his head out of his office on this with very reasonable demands. He is very firm on the question of direct legitimate elections, which is supposedly what the crusade was about to begin with (well, that was the latest bullshit excuse to be offered up).. but the occupation authority is going out of its way to not do that.

With a nod he put half a million people on the streets, and ended it just as quickly.

Aside from recklessly provoking Sayyid Sistani, they'd better make damn sure not to disrupt anything at all during Ashura. Ashura is the 10th of Muharram on the Islamic calendar, which is March 1st of this year (just a few days away). It celebrates the resistance and martyrdom of Imam Husayn ibn Ali, who became shaheed resisting an Iraqi tyrant near what is now Karbala. The shared symbolism and syncronicities between then and now are astounding, and this is not lost on the people there.

When the Zionists under the mass murderers Begin and Sharon invaded Lebanon, murdering thousands of people and causing indescriminate destruction in cities and villages, the local Shia were somewhat passive in response to it at first (the Lebanese leftist and Palestinian groups resisted the invasion, while the Shia aligned with neither at the start). When Ashura festivals in the South of Lebanon, Nabatiyah in particular, were disrupted and shot at by the Zionist occupation forces, the Lebanese Shia under primarily the Hizbullah began to resist the invaders--and they did so victoriously.

A larger version of this may unfold in Iraq.

[Aidoneus]

19. kick

:kick:

[iam]

11. Incompetent!

Conservatives are utterly incompetent. The Iraq war is the biggest screwup in the history of the US. Jesus, the opportunity we had to change the world for the better after 9-11 was lost. The absolute WORST man in the world for a post 9-11 era is dumbya*. And it pisses me off big-time. All of you DU'ers out there (including myself)better pound the pavement for our nominee, 'cause four more years of this crap without re-election looming, spells disaster for civilization.

[Zero Gravitas]

12. Mission Accomplished!

but but but I though we had already liberated the Oppressed Iraqis. Our Great Leader President Bush said so when he flew his fighter jet onto that Aircraft Carrier in the middle of the battle zone.

Aren't the Iraqis already enjoying affordable health care, good jobs and a vibrant, open, secular democratic society?
</sarcasm>

The caucus thing was put in place to stop the Shiites from voting themselves all the power. It was a dumb idea, but the President Rove decreed that the handover would happen before the US election so they are hoist on their own petard.

[Bandit]

13. This is Democracy Bush* style

No elections we select. Sound familiar? A selected leader who was not elected.

[damnraddem]

14. Hmm, the caucus approach won't work because ...

Iraqis demand a more-democratic approach. So naturally the Busheviks respond with a less-democratic approach. That will surely please the Iraqis. LOL!

[qwertyMike]

17. Why should we listen to citizen Perle?

Isn't he some sort of criminal?

[denverbill]

20. Send them some Diebold voting machines. That'll fix it.

That way, you already know the results in advance!

[Jack Rabbit]

21. Direct elections are the way to go

As long as we keep Diebold and Katherine Harris as far away from the process as possible.