Iraqis Are Failing to Meet U.S. Benchmarks

[bigtree]

New York Times
June 13, 2007

{snips}

"Iraq's political leaders have failed to reach agreements on nearly every law that the Americans have demanded as benchmarks, despite heavy pressure from Congress, the White House and top military commanders. With only three months until progress reports are due in Washington, the deadlock has reached a point where many Iraqi and American officials now question whether any substantive laws will pass before the end of the year. . . .

"For the handful of party leaders with the power to make deals, the promise of compromise now carries less allure than the possibility for domination. Long-suppressed Shiites and Kurds now see total victory within their grasp. Previous American benchmarks like elections have failed to bring peace and, after four years of unfulfilled promises, bloodshed and sprawling chaos, once wary glances have become cold, unblinking stares.

"The same forces of entropy and obstinacy have also severed links between the party leaders and their constituencies. In Shiite areas of southern Iraq, Sunni areas of the west and for Kurds in the north, Iraq's central government has become increasingly irrelevant as competing groups within each faction maneuver at the local level for control of public money and jobs. In many cases, especially through mosques, Iran and other foreign powers often provide more institutional support than Baghdad. . . .

"In many provinces, officials have little respect for laws passed in the capital. In the southern city of Basra, the various Shiite parties have already divvied up the spoils of government: the Fadhila Party controls much of the oil industry and the border police are tied to the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the party of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim."

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/world/middleeast/13benchmarks-iht.html?ei=5090&en=07117ec69646e1f2&ex=1339387200&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print


my take:

How many will Bush allow to die in Iraq before he gets his "benchmarks?"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1103902&mesg_id=1103902
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/bigtree

[RufusTFirefly]

1. One of those "benchmarks" involves privatizing their oil

It's the so-called "hydrocarbon law," and it's a bonanza for Big Oil.
Gee, now why would a sovereign country agree to turning their oil over to multinationals?
Those obstinate Iraqis!

[PDJane]

2. I have this problem with benchmarks.........

The US wanders into Iraq, blows the hell out of the civilian infrastructure, starves the civilian population, makes sure that hospitals don't have security or equipment, kills about 1,000,000 civilians, makes 4,000,000 refugees, and this in addition to the 2,000,000 who died during the decade of sanctions..........and then wants to impose benchmarks???

Pardon me?

This is chutzpah, people........stealing the oil is just insult to injury.

[bigtree]

3. exactly. where do we get off telling a supposedly sovereign nation how/what to legislate?

we know that even if Iraqis do those things Bush and others have 'laid out' for them, he still intends to keep forces in place to intimidate Iraqis into bending to his will and whim on the pretext of fighting his 'terror war.'

There is no role for Americans in Iraq except to pick up as much of the litter we've dumped there and carry our sorry lot home.

[Amonester]

4. And it's also defined as a War Crime by International Law.

"stealing the oil is just insult to injury"

that is. A War Crime.