Cheney Behind Attempt to Bring Maliki Down
Sun Jul 08, 2007 at 09:34:32 AM PDT
The Iraqi government has not been exactly effective one could say. With difficulty achieving parliamentary quorums, dozens of members living outside the country, and politicians who frequently put sectarian interests before all else, the Iraqi government has not been a significant player in working to end the violence in Iraq (then again, who has been besides the anti-war activists?). Prime Minister Maliki now faces a vote of no confidence, but I find the identities of the potential architects of such a move to be rather disturbing to say the least.
From the AFP:
http://news.yahoo.com/...
Senior Iraqi politicians, with possible tacit backing from US Vice President Richard Cheney, are planning to ask soon for a no-confidence parliamentary vote against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as a step toward bringing him down, CBS News reported Saturday.
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The report said the no-confidence vote will be requested on July 15 by the largest block of Sunni politicians, who are part of a broad political alliance called the Iraq Project.
The group wants a new government run by ministers who are appointed for their expertise, not their party loyalty, the television network said.
Granted, Dick Cheney's involvement in this scheme is described as being "possible," but to anyone who's read at least one newspaper in the past 3 years knows this fits neatly into his MO. I find this extremely disturbing and I'll tell you why. I have no love for Maliki. His departure from the scene would not be the worst thing ever. As a leader, has been ineffectual at ending the violence, and he has failed to provide the leadership that is so desperately needed right now.
The reason his departure bothers me is not because of what it says about Iraq and Iraqi politics, but rather because of what it says about our politicians and their priorities. The article doesn't mention it, but it is so painfully obvious: Cheney wants Maliki out because there has been little progress on the Iraqi Oil Bill that the Bush administration wants to see passed. Granted, Maliki on July third called the bill "the most important law in Iraq," yet Cheney and his cabal wanted this legislation completed weeks if not months ago.
The message to take home from all this is that Cheney and the rest of the Bush administration do not care about a stable Iraq. They do not care about a peaceful Iraq, or a democratic Iraq. They simply care about an Iraq where its natural resources are free for the plundering, allowing the stock prices of their allies to soar. Is it any wonder that the surge has been a titanic failure? It is and always has been a cynical attempt to delay the inevitable and prolong our stay there, so as to buy more time to ensure that when the smoke clears the Neocons will still have their slice of the pie.
This is what our troops are dying for.
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