The Common Ills: The Iraqi government continues to fail

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The Iraqi government continues to fail

So yesterday 35 corpses were discovered dumped in Hilla (just one example of the ongoing violence in Iraq) and today National Iraqi News Agency reports that MP Siham al-Moussawi informs them that there is still no "agreement between the political blocs on the choice of candidates for security ministries so far."

This is not minor.

Nor is it surprising.

It is outrageous.

The Iraqi government would rather play helpless and useless and beg others -- including the US -- for weapons and fighters (yes, Americans dropping bombs on Iraq are in combat) than get off their own fat asses in the heavily protected Green Zone and do their damn job.

When you're security situation is as bad as Iraq's is, you do not go weeks, let alone months, refusing to declare a Minister of Defense or a Minister of the Interior (the latter's over the federal police and many of the prisons).

It is outrageous and it is not surprising.

In 2010, the White House installed Nouri al-Maliki for a second term via the US-brokered Erbil Agreement, the press insisted it was okay Nouri refused to nominate people to head the security ministries, it was okay because he would do so in just a few weeks.

And by "press," we're referring to the western press, not the Iraqi press.

Nouri went four years, through his entire second term, and he never had people heading the security ministries because he refused to nominate them.

CIA contractor Juan Cole is in a tizzy this morning about Baghdad.

This is the crap our government, via the CIA, pays for?

It is highly unlikely that 'Baghdad' will be stormed.

'Baghdad,' since 2003, has meant the Green Zone.

In 2006, there was fear as that almost happened and it was almost breached. Since then, it's only been more heavily fortified.

Were Baghdad to be 'attacked,' it would more likely be via co-conspirators with access to the Green Zone launching bombings inside.

That Juan can't grasp that says a great deal. (And we really need to learn how many US tax dollars the CIA has wasted on him and his half-baked 'analysis.')

One likely scenario would be the Islamic State surrounding Baghdad, cutting off inroads to the city (Green Zone) and launching bombs from within.

It would be the nightmare so many feared when the Bremer Walls started going up all over Baghdad in 2006 -- how they might protect, but they could also trap.

None of that has to happen. It's just speculation.

Juan, however, treats his speculation as fact.

(While ignoring actual facts.)

Juan wastes a lot of time on nutty fantasies but his 'analysis' fails to note the violence could stem from Iraq not having a Minister of Defense or Minister of the Interior since 2010.

The following community sites -- plus The Diane Rehm Show, the Guardian and Antiwar.com -- updated: