About that democracy in Iraq…

August 17, 2006

This front-page New York Times is the latest evidence that conditions in Iraq, which couldn’t get much worse, have definitely gotten worse.

The number of roadside bombs planted in Iraq rose in July to the highest monthly total of the [tag]war[/tag], offering more evidence that the anti-American insurgency has continued to strengthen despite the killing of the terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Along with a sharp increase in [tag]sectarian[/tag] attacks, the number of daily strikes against American and Iraqi security forces has doubled since January. The deadliest means of attack, roadside bombs, made up much of that increase. In July, of 2,625 explosive devices, 1,666 exploded and 959 were discovered before they went off. In January, 1,454 bombs exploded or were found.

While the death toll continues to climb, the number of injured troops has doubled since January. The number of bombs directed at Iraqi security forces has also doubled. So have the number of bombs directed at Iraqi civilians. The NYT noted, “[tag]Bush[/tag] [tag]administration[/tag] officials now admit that Iraqi government’s original plan to rein in the violence in [tag]Baghdad[/tag], announced in June, has failed.”

Is the [tag]insurgency[/tag] in its “last throes,” as Dick [tag]Cheney[/tag] still argues? No. “The insurgency has gotten worse by almost all measures, with insurgent attacks at historically high levels,” said a senior Defense Department official. “The insurgency has more public support and is demonstrably more capable in numbers of people active and in its ability to direct violence than at any point in time.”

How serious is the crisis? There’s talk about giving up on an [tag]Iraqi[/tag] [tag]democracy[/tag] altogether.

[S]ome outside experts who have recently visited the White House said Bush administration officials were beginning to plan for the possibility that [tag]Iraq[/tag]’s democratically elected government might not survive.

“Senior administration officials have acknowledged to me that they are considering alternatives other than democracy,” said one military affairs expert who received an Iraq briefing at the White House last month and agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity.

“Everybody in the administration is being quite circumspect,” the expert said, “but you can sense their own concern that this is drifting away from democracy.”

What, pray tell, might the administration consider as an alternative?

“What, pray tell, might the administration consider as an alternative? ”

Have the Syrians tell them to cut that shit out.

  • “Senior administration officials have acknowledged to me that they are considering alternatives other than democracy,”

    That was always the Regal Moron’s dream wasn’t it? He seems to personally favor dictatorship. And I’m sure the Bush Crime Family (e.g., Cheney) would favor rule by gangsters (limited dictatorship conducted as a business).

  • ***What, pray tell, might the administration consider as an alternative?***

    They can fall back on the old standby—a dictatorship that pays unquestionable homage to “Dear Leader.” Let’s call it “Saddam—the Sequel.”

    Or the administration could do the honorable thing, and resign en masse. If this were “Old” Japan, the Emperor would be calling on Bush and his cronies to commit mass suicide, to atone for their gross failures. Oh, that we should be so fortunate!

  • “What, pray tell, might the administration consider as an alternative?”

    Saddam?

    There is no alternative to democracy. There is only an alternative to a unitary state.

    Why no alternative to democracy? Because this isn’t a question of HOW the leadership of Iraq got into power. The insurgency is about WHO the leadership of Iraq is. We could appoint a dictator for life or reinstate a King in Iraq and it would change nothing. Or the Iraqis could pick one, but it wouldn’t matter. Enough people in Iraq, both Iraqis and foreign terrorists, are committed to the destruction of the country if they can’t control it (or both) that the Government there is unlikely to survive.

    But shatter Iraq into pieces, and something practicable might be achieved. The country is already coming apart at the seams. There is ethnic cleansing all over the place. A rationale response would be to break the country up, move a portion of the U.S. Military into Kurdistan both to protect their minorities (Christians, Turkmen, etc.) and to keep Turkey out. Another portion of the U.S. Military can withdraw to Kuwait.

    Then, tell the Arab Sunnis and Shia that they can have their Civil War if they want it, or a wider regional war. Machs Nichts to us. Let the Iraqi Sunnis and their al Qaeda friends try to be a speed bump to the Shite Creasant from Lebanon to Iran.

  • What Iraq needs to be is a US territory. That way, in a few years, Iraq and Puerto Rico can be made states together.

  • What, pray tell, might the administration consider as an alternative?

    They’re going back to the old chestnut about Flypaper/Al Qaida/Central Front in the War On Terra. This has the advantage of being partly right – AQ certainly is active in Iraq. The bad news is they are only there because our bungled invasion let them come in. The other bad news is their presence is only a minor part of the Ongoing Fiasco Formerly Known As Iraq. As usual, the administration is so caught up in its delusional take on the situation that they will doggedly press ahead with continuing to make the situation worse.

    At least we won’t be hearing so much about the stupid purple fingers anymore.

  • I have always considered the Iraqi bloggers the best window we have had on conditions in Iraq, not one in particular but the whole spectrum of them. It is telling and horrifying the number of them that have found it necessary to leave their country. “Healing Iraq,” “Treasure of Baghdad” “24 Steps”, even “Baghdad Girl” and her wonderful kittens have felt they had to leave.

    I can only quote from “Treasure of Baghdad” (sorry for the length, I have had trouble adding links here) for the perhaps most telling comment on our failure, through the eyes of someone who loved his country. (This is from his post, “Back to Life,” which should be read if only for the list of bloggers who are now in Jordan.)

    “I didn’t know that there is still hope of living normally even if it is away from my own country. I gave up hoping that my beloved country may be safe and normal again.

    My life has changed now. I can breath, walk, laugh, joke, cry, run, have fun, and meet with friends and relatives. I missed these things for years. For the last three years, I was like a robot. Living and working for the sake of work and nothing else. No kind of life was represented in my previous life. Fear was my companion. Wherever I go I feel worried and whatever I do I feel cautious. I thought about each step I walked in Baghdad several times before I took its risk.

    Tears, lots of tears bid farewell to Baghdad. When I was leaving, I felt my tears were falling like rain on the shoulders of my mother, father, sister, aunt and friends. We were all crying. My parents were crying of happiness because finally I am going to be safe. But where can I get the feeling of peace from while they are still there in the middle of killings and explosions?

    Since I arrived in Amman, I felt that I am still alive. WOW! I am still alive. I don’t know how, I don’t know why but I am alive and breathing. “

  • I don’t see Bush allowing Iraq to break apart. For one thing, neither Iran nor Turkey will tolerate an autonomous Kurdish territory. And then there’s the oil American companies haven’t been able to exploit. Nope, it’s time to select Saddam II and install a “friendly” dictatorship along the lines of Egypt or Saudi Arabia.That’ll show those ingrate Shia.

    Besides when President Pierce Bush is looking to boost Republican chances in a midterm election we’ll have a ready-made target.

  • A great alternative would be to Install Bush and Cheney as co-dictators of the New Free Iraq. Let them live in the quagmire they created. See how long they last.

    Anyone want to place bets?

    —————————————————————-

    (When Bush first said he wanted a free Iraq, I didn’t know that he was going to reduce it’s value to nothing…)

  • What, pray tell, might the administration consider as an alternative?

    Let’s see…. Since “the boy who would be king” has approx 2 years left as president, and he’s building the world’s largest castle embassy in Baghdad, maybe he’s considering a move.

    He could take uncle dick, and rummy and all the other playmates. He could have trees planted so he could clear brush… the possibilities are endless when you’re king.

  • Wow, Kanopsis, Bonapartism*!

    Sounds good to me. After all, the Bushites are all experienced in Government now. Let’s lend them out to the troubled places in the world.

    * Bonapartism, putting your family in as heads of states of conquored countries.

  • Full Circle. Install another strongman dictator, maybe Ahmed Chalabi, but probably someone less connected to Iranian Intelligence, resurrect the Republican Guard and the Iraqi Secret Police and voila – we have a new ally in the Region.

    For the very same outcome, we could have spared thousands of American lives, tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and billions and billions of dollars (not to mention maybe capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden), if we’d stayed in Afghanistan and not bothered with Iraq at all.

  • “Bush administration officials now admit that Iraqi government’s original plan to rein in the violence in Baghdad, announced in June, has failed.”

    Fail? I thought it was adapt and win?

    “Everybody in the administration is being quite circumspect,” the expert said, “but you can sense their own concern that this is drifting away from democracy.”

    Oh, I see. Adapt the goal.

    To quote Bushie himself, “it’s easy to see a tide turn.” Unfortunately for everyone, the Bushites will never try to get at the root of the problem to actually attempt solving the problems. Their answer will be more troops and an open ended occupation.

  • I can just tell that some “mastermind” at the White House is looking at the stillborn democratic process in Iraq and saying, “Saddam was on to something …” So if bringing democracy to Iraq is the latest victim of he war, how will Rove, Cheney and the boys have to spin themselves out of this? Finally admit that it was all about the oil and revenge?

  • I seriously wonder just how much influence BushCo really has left in Iraq. Our military is barely hanging on, Bush’s hand-picked puppets are helpless, and even some of the early leaders of the miltias are losing their authority over splinter groups. What leverage does anyone really have to do anything at all?

    Bush has lost, utterly and completely, and I see no way out except to get our own people out as safely as possible. The morons in the White House just haven’t realized how bad off they really are.

    Yet.

  • OK, here’s the plan … Mubarrak is on the outs in Egypt, but he’s a good strongman-for-life type of leader, so we move him from Cairo to Baghdad, move Gaddadi from Libya to Egypt since he’s sort of our friend and he’s managed to get the Libyans to be all peaceful and shit, and shave Saddam and move him to Tripoli because we all know it was more having Libya be a terrorist state than the patsy it is now. Then, we get go back to having three parties in the axis of evil, rather than the current two, because the troika of terror just sounds better.

  • Plan? Simple. We already have one guy in our hands who proved for over three decades that he can keep it in one piece. Let’s just give the damn thing back to Saddam, and let him run it. His version of death squads killed far fewer than are being killed today…

  • “I don’t see Bush allowing Iraq to break apart. For one thing, neither Iran nor Turkey will tolerate an autonomous Kurdish territory.” – prm

    First, was I asking for Turkey’s or Iran’s permission?

    Second, does Boy George II have the ability to not allow Iraqis to do whatever they damn well please?

  • prm:

    Besides when President Pierce Bush is looking to boost Republican chances in a midterm election we’ll have a ready-made target.

    Oh my frigging God….

    And here I was thinking I was the only one who knew that Pierce is absolutely perfect for America!

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