Larry Johnson: It Is the Sovereignty Stupid

[babylonsister]

It Is the Sovereignty Stupid

By Larry Johnson on October 8, 2007 at 9:14 PM in Current Affairs


Word over the weekend that Iraq is brokering an arms deal with China is good news if you are pulling for Iraq to exercise sovereignty. Of course the back story to the Chinese arms deal is more bad news. In essence, the Shia government distrusts what the United States is doing among the Sunni tribes in Anbar and wants weapons for Shia militia and police to protect Shia communities from the former allies of Saddam Hussein.

The question of sovereignty raised by the purchase of Chinese AK-47s is but the beginning of determining whether Iraq’s Shia will stand up so we can stand down and whether we really mean what we say. The reality on the ground continues to highlight the impotence of the Maliki government and the proconsul might wielded by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. Sure we try to maintain the fiction that there is a functioning government in Baghdad that is under Iraqi control, but when push comes to shove we are winning the pushing and shoving contests.

Consider first the reality and then entertain what Iraq would look like if Maliki, through some miracle, manages to flex his own sovereign power.

Reality: US military forces occupy dozens of military bases throughout Iraq and will only relinquish control of those bases when we decide. Iraq has no ability to push us out of those encampments.

Reality: We conduct military operations throughout Iraq without seeking the permission of the Iraqi government. We capture Iranian diplomats and businessmen who legally entered Iraq and are holding them prisoner. We attack houses and, while not intending to, kill civilians just as Blackwater did without worrying about being arrested or detained for our actions. We take whom we want, when we want, and lock them up. We do not need a warrant. There is no habeus corpus. There is no right to be confronted by one’s accuser (if there is an accuser).

Reality: The U.S. State Department, through the good offices of Ambassador Crocker, calls the shots with respect to Blackwater and other security contractors employed to protect official U.S. persons. If the Russians want to hire security guards to protect their diplomats in Washington, D.C., those guards will be from a company licensed to operate in Washington, D.C. and, unless they are attached to a local or federal law enforcement agency, they cannot carry weapons. And if they shoot somebody, the responsible guard is headed to jail unless the victim was armed and attacking. Well, thems ain’t the rules of engagement in Iraq. Blackwater does not need a visa to enter Iraq. It does not need Iraqi permission to carry weapons. It does not need Iraqi permission to fire weapons. And even after Blackwater has killed more than a dozen Iraqi civilians, it continues to operate freely. And who is responsible for reining in the Blackwater mercs? Us.

more...

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2007/10/08/it-is-the-sovereignty-stupid/

[Demeter]

1. Looks to Me Like the Shia ARE Standing Up

Standing Up to the US, that is. What with demanding the ouster of Blackwater, and shopping for armaments, trashing the oil contracts and courting Russia, Iraq is very definitely gone past adolescence and left the bosom of its dysfunctional parent.

[Kagemusha]

2. Oh and trumping up cases against political enemies w/ videotaped confessions.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3020813

In some countries this would have both individuals arrested and hung based on such "proof". As Iraq becomes more sovereign, we can expect to see its elected government succeeding in slaying such political rivals more, figuratively and literally.