Whose side are we on? No friend in Iraq (essay on politics inside Iraq)

[Robbien]

. . .

One thing was clear on the eve of the war in Iraq: The Shiites would favour the overthrow of Saddam and a brief U.S. occupation only if Washington promised to deliver power into the hands of the Shiite majority via the ballot box. This has now come to pass. As far as most Shiites are concerned, the United States has basically fulfilled its mission and should go home.

The Shiites, however, are tactically divided as to when the United States should go home. Some still want America to stay on a bit longer to help put down the insurgency and stabilise the country, thus making the Shiites' rule more secure. Others - now maybe a majority - fear that their dependence upon the U.S. sword is damaging to the very legitimacy of Shiite governance. Under these conditions, the Sunni minority can claim the mantle of "the one force that stood up to American occupation." Thus, for most Shiites the quickest way to gain national legitimacy and acquire nationalist credentials may be to join the call for an end to the U.S. occupation.

. . .

Now that Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, has delivered President George W. Bush's jarring message that the current Iraqi prime minister, Ibrahim al- Jaafari, is not acceptable to Washington and should not seek a second term, the Shiite break with Washington may be nearing.

By no means do all Shiites want Jaafari as prime minister. But the United States in their view has delivered a fairly naked diktat by telling the Shiites who should or should not run their ostensibly sovereign government. U.S. pressure on the Shiites to give up control of such vital power ministries as Intelligence and Interior are certain non- starters; the Shiites have not waited for half a century to get power only to yield these vital security functions to their erstwhile oppressors and current rivals. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani will work mightily to ensure the Shiites do not break ranks on these issues.

It may be that the Shiite alliance will switch candidates for prime minister, if only in the name of preserving unity. But any new candidate, in an agreement likely to be forged by Sistani, must also placate the many Shiite elements cool or hostile to the United States - including Jaafari, Sadr and the pro-Iranian Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

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http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_27175.shtml

[Demeter]

1. We Aren't On Any Iraqi Side

Bush is on the side of OIL. The rest of the country is trying to escape the entire question.