Independent Streak

7 June 2004



Iraqi Governing Council Gets Last Laugh

Iraq's Governing Council made fools out of both the US and the UN on its final day of existence. It chose its own president and then voted itself out of existence. It's hard to argue with an opponent that has passed on to history. Harder still to deal with what it left behind, and Iraqi regime that has some perceived legitimacy and a desire to flex its muscles.

It is an open secret in Washington that the neocons wanted a government with Ahmed Chalabi and Adnan Pachachi running things. Mr. Chalabi, a secular Shi'ite, now seems to have been uncomfortably close to his co-religionists in Iran, passing bits of data to them -- "Oh, and the Americans have cracked your code." Meanwhile, Mr. Pachachi, a Sunni, harkens back to the good ol' days in pre-Saddamite Iraq, since his father, uncle and father-in-law all held the prime minister's post -- hereditary democracy?

As for the UN's Lakhdar Brahimi, the IGC proved that it wasn't about to listen to him either. His plan for technocratic rule until elections were held was laughable from the beginning. When a new regime is a-borning, the politicians will find a way in no matter what. Civil engineers can provide round-the-clock electricity (something Baghdad still doesn't have), but which neighborhood gets it first is a political, not technical, question.

The one man who could have derailed the IGC's move was Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani. He is the true power in Iraq now. His words of support proved that he is a crafty politician himself. He noted that the people didn't vote the new bunch in, and that the new guys didn't represent "in an acceptable manner all segments of Iraqi society and political forces." Then, he said, "Nevertheless, it is hoped that this government will prove its efficiency and integrity and show resolve to carry out the enormous tasks that rest on its shoulders." In other words, if they succeed in grabbing real control, the Grand Ayatollah wins; if they fail, the new government loses.

The crunch will come after the June 30 handover of "sovereignty." Then, any violence will be the problem of the new government, and any response will be Iraqi policy. Kensington has called it a civil war in the past, and it will enter a new phase then -- but it remains a civil war.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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