Iraqis call for five-man junta to end the anarchy

[cal04]

IRAQ’S fragile democracy, weakened by mounting chaos and a rapidly rising death toll, is being challenged by calls for the formation of a hardline “government of national salvation”.

The proposal, which is being widely discussed in political and intelligence circles in Baghdad, is to replace the Shi’ite-led government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, with a regime capable of imposing order and confronting the sectarian militias leading the country to the brink of civil war. Dr Saleh al-Mutlak, a prominent Sunni politician, travelled to Arab capitals last week seeking support for the replacement of the present government with a group of five strongmen who would impose martial law and either dissolve parliament or halt its participation in day-to-day government.

Other Iraqis dismissed the idea that a unilateral change in the leadership would be desirable or even possible. “The only person who can undertake a coup in Iraq now is General George Casey (the US commander) and I don’t think the Americans are inclined to go in that direction,” said Ahmed Chalabi, head of a rival political party.

Any suspension of the democratic process would be regarded as a severe blow to American and British policy.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2404311,00.html

[Greeby]

1. 655,000 dead later

And the Iraqis are crying out for a military dictatorship. Heckuva job, Georgie :eyes:

[xchrom]

2. the punchline to the joke.

[Kagemusha]

3. About that article. One supporter of the junta plan is al-Fadila

This, the 'Virtue Party', used to run Iraq's oil ministry but lost out when Allawi's government was replaced with a fully elected government of which Maliki became PM earlier this year. al-Fadila is engaged in a 4-way power struggle to control Basra and other strategic areas in the oil-rich southern Shiite-dominated areas of Iraq. I forget what the 4th wheel was. Two of the factions, however, are most definitely Sadr's Mahdi Army and Hakim's SCIRI/ Badr Corps. In other words, this party has a massive direct political and financial interest in seeing militias driven out of government, to then be hounded in the provinces by the new strongman government, therefore making the country safe for al-Fadila domination of the southern provinces' oil wealth.

This stuff sounds a lot more innocent and patriotic until you break down who benefits and why.

[Trajan]

4. Didnt Daniel Pipes recommend ....

A 'Benevolent Dictatorship' for Iraq, instead of a democracy ? ....

Or was it just 'Dictatorship' ? ..... I ferget ....

Ah .... I see Chalabi chiming in .... One of Pipe's friends in the Neocon cesspool ..... Figures he would be triangulating and conniving his way into power ....

And you can bet Cheney and Dubya's oil buddies wont mind if he is the Dictator ...

[yurbud]

5. right--the Iraqis decide they want what the Bushies have been talking up

and they want to be raped with mop handles too.