Sunday, December 11, 2005
Deadlines for Iraqis are OK with ODEL
The WaPo reports that what is sauce for the Iraqi goose does not apply to the American gander.
The story of the 18-month process that unfolded after Bremer left Baghdad was one of steadfast fidelity to the script, as well as a costly period of U.S. inattention and endless frustrations with squabbling Iraqi leaders, according to a wide array of Bush advisers, Iraqi politicians and others involved in the effort. While Bush refuses to set a timetable for military withdrawal, he has stuck doggedly to the Bremer political timetable despite qualms of his staff, relentless violence on the ground and disaffection of Iraq's minority Sunni Arabs.This begs the question, What is the script for our troops? The insurgency, which began spontaneously and poorly organized, will as we stay longer become more institutionalized and a bigger problem for those left in charge. With no targets or timetables, Our Dear Embattled Leader can keep moving the goalposts and create a larger and more bloody civil war with each month we stay. He makes James Buchanan seem wiser each day.
Bush's deadline democracy managed to propel the process forward and appears on the verge of creating a new government with legitimacy earned at the ballot box. His approach resulted in a constitution often described as more democratic than any in the Arab world. Yet by pushing forward without Sunni acceptance, the Bush team failed to produce the national accord it sought among Iraq's three main groups, leaving a schism that could loom beyond Thursday's election. And the Sunni-powered insurgency that was supposed to be marginalized by an inclusive democracy remains as lethal as ever.
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