For someone who speaks highly of Democracy and bringing it to Iraq, President Bush is apparently acting like a mafia don, telling current Prime Minister of the elected Shiite Party, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, that Bush does not find him to be acceptable and expects him to step aside for someone more acceptable to the US.
Edward Wong writes, Shiites Say U.S. Is Pressuring Iraqi Leader to Step Aside
BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 28 -- Senior Shiite politicians said today that the American ambassador has told Shiite officials to inform the Iraqi prime minister that President Bush does not want him to remain the country's leader in the next government.
It is the first time the Americans have directly intervened in the furious debate over the country's top job, the politicians said, and it is inflaming tensions between the Americans and some Shiite leaders.
Ambassador Zalmay Khlilzad Give's Iraq New Marching Orders From President Bush
The ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, told the head of the main Shiite political bloc at a meeting last Saturday to pass a "personal message from President Bush" on to the prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who the Shiites insist should stay in his post for four more years, said Redha Jowad Taki, a Shiite politician and member of Parliament who was at the meeting.
Ambassador Khalilzad said that President Bush "doesn't want, doesn't support, doesn't accept" Mr. Jaafari to be the next prime minister, according to Mr. Taki, a senior aide to Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Shiite bloc. It was the first "clear and direct message" from the Americans on the issue of the candidate for prime minister, Mr. Taki said.
What? How could President Bush say something like this? Does he even have a clue about what Democracy is supposed to mean? Doesn't he realize how infuriating this will be? Not just to the Iraqi's. But all Arabs, Muslims, third world people, and many others. Like, yes, we're glad you had these elections for our public relations strategy but here's what now has to happen to make it acceptable to your lord and master the American President. I thought at first this might be a satire.
But this is for real!
The American View
The Americans have harshly criticized the Jaafari government in recent months for supporting Shiite militias that have been fomenting sectarian violence and pushing Iraq closer to full-scale civil war. Ambassador Khalilzad has sharpened his attacks in the last week, saying the militias are now killing more people than the Sunni-led insurgency.
There is growing concern among American officials that Mr. Jaafari is incapable of reining in the private armies, especially since Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric who leads the most volatile of the militias, is Mr. Jaafari's strongest backer.
The Reaction From Iraqi's
As one might imagine, the Iraqi's are reported to be pretty upset about this.
Haider al-Ubady, a spokesman for Mr. Jaafari...accused the Americans of trying to subvert Iraqi sovereignty and weaken the Shiite ranks.
"How can they do this?" Mr. Ubady said. "An ambassador telling a sovereign country what to do is unacceptable."
"The perception is very strong among certain Shia parties that the U.S., led by Khalilzad, is trying to unseat Jaafari," he added.
To the extent, the reports we read here are accurate, it seems as if Mr. Ubady, both an astute observer of "subtlety" and correct. And this seems outragious and at odds with our assertions that we are there to promote democracy.
I know full well, that was not President Bush's real intent, but after going through all this trouble, if seems as if we ought to at least pretend like we meant it. We should at least try to salvage what ever goodness or steps in the right direction may be possible.
But it seems as if the Bush administration is intent on undermining whatever accidental achievements the US interverntion may have produced in Iraq.
Growing White House Impatience Over Iraqi Deadlock
The reported pressure from the American government over Mr. Jaafari's nomination is another sign of the White House's acute impatience over the deadlocked talks to form a four-year government. The nomination has become one of the most contentious issues in those talks, with the main Kurdish, Sunni Arab and secular blocs calling for the Shiites to replace Mr. Jaafari. American officials say the chronic delay in installing a government has created a power vacuum where lawlessness is thriving and a low-level civil conflict is raging.
Well, this sounds like a more reasonable view. There are no doubt subtlies and complexities involved here that are impossible for us to understand from this distance. But we should all be concerned at the very least how this is being reported. And the way it makes American look.
Growing Iraqi Distrust And Resentment Of Americans
In recent months, Ambassador Khalilzad has championed Sunni Arab inclusion in the next government while criticizing Shiite oversight of the current government, especially the security forces. As bodies pile up in the streets, believed to be the work of death squads, the ambassador has forcefully demanded that the Shiites disband their militias, especially the Mahdi Army, run by Mr. Sadr. All that has led to growing Shiite distrust of the Americans.
Last month, Mr. Hakim said the ambassador's anti-Shiite stand had contributed to the insurgent bombing of the golden-domed Askariya Shrine in Samarra, which houses the tombs of two Shiite imams. After the explosion, Shiite militiamen rampaged through eastern Baghdad, attacking Sunni mosques and killing hundreds.
Mr. Ubady, the prime minister's spokesman, said "it's been seen by the Shia that the post" of American ambassador, "which is now being held by Zalmay Khalilzad, is helping terrorists."
Conclusion: US On The Verge Of Making Things Worse?
Hey, Republicans. Are you ready yet to join us in bi-partisan calls for Bush and Cheney to resign for the good of the world? If you allow Bush to carry on like this, he really might be capable of launching this already disastrous war in Iraq to a full scale World War III just like former Delta Force founding member Eric Haney suggests in the interview highlighted in Torquemadog's diary tonight.
I certainly hope these reports turn out to be misunderstandings or exagerations. Because if they are not, it may indicate that US Foreign Policy is in even worse a shambles than we thought. And the Bush Administration seems hellbent on making things much worse than they already are.
Am I the only one who thinks that having the US trying to dictate to the Iraqis the make up of their newly elected government might be seen as a little brassy and likely to breed resentment and backlash throughout the world?