Contradiction

The GAO report – now that’s an official report by the accounting offices of our government, you understand – for January 15, 2008, on Iraq doesn’t sound like anything we've been hearing the Bush administration say. It begins by saying the administration reported (read: lied) actual funds spent on capital projects as quite a rather larger amount than the Iraqi government reports, and continues from there with a sad tale of the improbability of any improvement on the situation.

Unlike George, Condi, et al., however, the GAO will not be televised.

In its September 2007 Iraqi benchmark assessment, the administration reported that Iraq's central government ministries had spent 24 percent of their 2007 capital projects budget, as of July 15, 2007. However, this report is not consistent with Iraq's official expenditure reports, which show that the central ministries had spent only 4.4 percent of their investment budget as of August 2007. The discrepancies between the official and unofficial data highlight uncertainties about the sources and use of Iraq's expenditure data. The government of Iraq faces many challenges that limit its ability to spend its capital project budget. Violence and sectarian strife delay capital budget execution by increasing the time and cost needed to implement contracts. Recent refugee flows and the de-Ba'athification process have contributed to the exodus of skilled labor from Iraq. In addition, U.S. and foreign officials also noted that weaknesses in Iraqi procurement, budgeting, and accounting procedures impede completion of capital projects. […] [I]mproving Iraqi government budget execution is part of a broader U.S. assistance effort to improve the capacity of the Iraqi government. For example, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has trained 500 ministry officials in procurement or budget execution. USAID also led an effort to implement an automated financial management information system for the Iraqi government, although this program was suspended in June 2007 following the kidnapping of five contractors involved in the project.

Iraqi Sovereignty About to Be Tested

Again.

The private security industry is trying to make sense of the announcement today from Baghdad that the Iraqi government is revoking a CPA-era edict, known as Order 17, immunizing contractors from prosecution in Iraqi courts. Some believe that the State Department will succeed in an anticipated attempt to prevent Americans from appearing before an Iraqi judge, while warning that if a full revocation succeeds, American companies or individual contractors might simply up and leave Iraq rather than potentially face charges in an immature justice system.

  TPM Muckraker

As I've said before, I'd expect to see a fee increase before I saw a pullout of private security guards (who outnumber US soldiers in Iraq, by the way).

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Cause for Celebration

American-style governing has taken hold in Iraq.

Saying makes it so. (Just ask Dick and George.)

Civil war has been averted in Iraq and Iranian intervention there has "ceased to exist," Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said yesterday.

[...]

"I can say that the greatest victory, of which I am proud . . . is stopping the explosion of a sectarian war." That possibility, he said, "is now far away."

  WaPo

And, by the way, there is nothing so fine as sovereignty.

He said cabinet ministers who have left his government in protest will be replaced, and he expressed confidence that the Iraqi parliament will pass legislation that he, the Bush administration and Congress have demanded.

It's September! Saturday Morning Cartoons...

At one point, the three [members of the U.S. Congress] were trying to discuss the state of Iraqi security forces with Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, but the large, flat-panel television set facing the official proved to be a distraction. Rubaie was watching children's cartoons.

When Moran asked him to turn it off, Rubaie protested with a laugh and said, "But this is my favorite television show," Moran recalled.

  WaPo

I wonder what cartoon it was that he liked so much more than discussing his country's national security. Christ. Do you suppose that will be in the "Petraeus" progress report? How do you suppose the U.S. soldiers who are there ostensibly giving the Iraqi government time and space to get their affairs in order will react? (On the other hand, maybe Rubaie doesn't see much difference in TV cartoons and U.S. politicians.)

Back when the publishing of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed sparked riots, al-Rubaie was quoted by CNN:

Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said he didn't agree with publishing the cartoons. However, he said he also disagreed with extremists using the cartoons to stir up violence "against the Western interests and actually against the good reputation of Islam as a religion, of Muslims as a people, as a peaceful people, and people believing in freedom of speech."

And a people who like cartoons.

Reports yesterday and yet this morning say that Senator Craig plans to announce his resignation from the Senate. I'm not sure what he's waiting for, but maybe he scheduled it for after his favorite cartoon show.

Roll it....

From the Broadway show Avenue Q

Now, the fact that he's soliciting sex in a public bathroom, and voting against civil rights for homosexuals, but sees being gay as the problematic part of the equation...that's why Senator Craig needs to go bye-bye. We'll be waiting.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Update 12:45pm: The announcement was made. If you click on the AP video on Yahoo's news article page, you'll hear Senator Craig say that it is his intent (with a strange emphasis on the word intent) to step down effective September 30.

You will also hear a cheering crowd, and somebody yelling, "Do it now!" And I have to wonder, why September 30? Somehow, I think that will allow an entire month of continued press coverage of the issue. That probably isn't good for the GOP. Which may be why Craig emphasized "intent". The GOP may press hard to get him out sooner.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Al-Maliki Responds

Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki (justifiably) is not impressed with Americans calling for his ouster.

"There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin. They should come to their senses."

  Yahoo

Unfortunately, their senses are the problem.

"Concerning American raids on Shula (a northern Shiite neighborhood) and Sadr City (the Shiite slum enclave in east Baghdad). There were big mistakes committed in these operations. The terrorist himself should be targeted not his family.

"When they want to detain one person, they should not kill 10 others. These are mistakes which we have to deal with. We will not allow the detaining of innocent people. Only the criminals should be detained," the angry al-Maliki declared.

Well, now he's just getting carried away. We're killing insurgents, not civilians. And those people harboring insurgents are not innocent. And the stray kid or two is just collateral damage.

On the other hand, it seems to me that the reports I've been reading and pictures I've been seeing commonly have the Iraqi police doing some pretty intensive cleaning up of the population as well.

And, Al...the whole world is one of our villages. Do what you're told, be quiet, and let us do what we want.

....we will anyway.

Making Space for the Political Process to Work

I'm sorry to inform you that the political situation in Iraq is getting even worse, despite the surge that was supposed to give it room to blossom.

Escalating a political crisis that has paralyzed the Iraqi government, three secular cabinet members will formally resign Saturday.

  WaPo

I could be wrong, but I suspect George's remark about it being up to the Iraqi people to decide who their leader is was a nod to having Maliki removed, without having to call for it - after all, he personally ushered in Iraqi democracy, did he not? He can't very well now just come out and say about al-Maliki what he said about Saddam.

Senators Levin and Warner are calling for Maliki's removal. And it looks like our old pal Iyad Allawi is hankering for another go at running things himself. Allawi, the guy who pulled out a gun and shot suspected insurgents in cold blood. Allawi, the guy who broke his wrist pounding on a table in a rage. Allawi, the "former" CIA man. Allawi, the guy who was appointed interim Prime Minister by the American government in advance of elections in Iraq and who lost big when the votes were counted.

I have a better idea. We could trot out Chalabi. He's bound to still be around under some rock somewhere.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Will Iraq's President Last the Year?

The chief reason why Maliki and his government will be ousted is not the hell-storm of death and violence that is now devouring the country. The fact that every new day sees a hundred or more mutilated bodies dumped on the nation's streets, and pitched battles between sectarian militias, and multiple deaths of American troops, and mass flights of anguished Iraqi civilians running in fear for their lives is not a matter of any urgent concern to Bush and his warmakers.

[...]

Of course, the violence is a political headache for the Bushists, because it generates bad press; but they don't care about it – it has no intrinsic meaning or emotional impact on those who are already responsible for the deaths of more than half a million Iraqis and more than 2,700 Americans.

No, what will likely bring on the coup is the December deadline for crafting a new oil law, which was imposed on Iraq by the International Monetary Fund, as part of the deal to write off some – but by no means all – of the nation's crushing debt.

  Empire Burlesque

Ah, that old IMF trick.

You wonder why Bush and his minions maintain the seemingly irrational belief that "things are going well" in Iraq, that "we're making progress," etc.? That's because things are going well in the war they are fighting: the war for money and power.

Which is the same reason that Bush could say on his way to vacation (which they're calling a "recess") that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." By "fundamentals of our economy" he means the folks in his circle.

Recess!

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

So Not Good

Yesterday's White House progress report says that the Iraqi military's readiness to take over the job on their own has actually gotten worse than it was before the "surge."

Apparently, however, it's not so bad that the Iraqi parliament can't take a month-long vacation. Hey, it's down from the original plan of two.

Demanding a Timetable in Iraq

Muqtada al-Sadr will announce Monday the departure of his movement's six ministers from Iraq's government to press demands for the U.S. to leave Iraq

[...]

Al-Sadr's stake in the government controls the ministries of Health, Agriculture, Province Affairs, Transportation, Tourism and Civil Society Organizations.

[...]

"This decision has been taken because Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki did not respect the will of the Iraqi people who went on protest on April 9th demanding ... occupation forces to withdraw from Iraq."

  CNN article

I'm pretty sure the ministries of Health, Tourism and Civil Society Organizations won't notice much difference in their ability to get things done when their ministers walk.

Iraq - not getting any better

The extension to finalize a constitution that can be voted on by the Iraqi people in October apparently wasn't enough.

In another dramatic last-minute standoff, Iraqi leaders put off a vote on a draft constitution Monday, adjourning parliament at a midnight deadline in a bid for three more days to win over the Sunni Arab minority whose support is key to stopping the insurgency.

[...]

The U.S. military said two U.S. soldiers from Task Force Liberty were killed Monday by a roadside bomb during a combat patrol north of Baghdad, and two more soldiers died Sunday when their vehicle overturned during a military operation near Tal Afar. At least 1,870 U.S. troops have died since the Iraq war started in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

  Yahoo News article

And remember, that count is only those who were pronounced dead in Iraq, and doesn't include any who breathed long enough to be evacuated to military hospitals elsewhere.

Still, I don't report the U.S. soldier death toll, because I think that is such a small fraction of the destruction and waste and shame of war. Not to mention, nobody in our reportage arena is even counting dead Iraqis. Unless it's numbers they can call terrorists, thinking it will appease or please us if we kill enough of them.

A former Halliburton Co. worker pleaded guilty late last week to taking more than $110,000 in bribes from an Iraqi company in 2004 and defrauding the United States, court documents showed.

[...]

KBR said it had terminated Powell as soon as his bribes were discovered and had refunded the improper payment to the U.S. government.

"We do not tolerate this kind of behavior by anyone at any level in any Halliburton company," Halliburton spokeswoman Cathy Mann said in an e-mail.

Another former KBR employee, Jeff Alex Mazon, was also indicted in March for devising a scheme to defraud the U.S. military of more than $3.5 million under a contract to supply fuel tankers for operations in Kuwait.

  Yahoo News article

Not Halliburton!?!

POAC

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Ruling the world is hard work

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. diplomats have conceded ground to Islamists on the role of religion in Iraq, negotiators said on Saturday as they raced to meet a 48-hour deadline to draft a constitution under intense U.S. pressure.

U.S. diplomats, who have insisted the constitution must enshrine ideals of equal rights and democracy, declined comment.

[...]

Washington, with 140,000 troops still in Iraq, has insisted Iraqis are free to govern themselves but made clear it will not approve the kind of clerical rule seen in Shi'ite Iran, a state President Bush describes as "evil."

  Yahoo News article

"Free, but."


Ben Sargent

The buck stops somewhere else

Even in Iraq.

President Jalal Talabani has paved the way for the first legal execution in Iraq since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein, the presidential office said Wednesday. The case involves three men sentenced to hang for murdering three policemen.

Any death sentence must be approved by the three-member presidential council headed by Talabani, who has voiced opposition to capital punishment in the past. He still refuses to sign the authorization document, but his office said he had authorized one of his vice presidents, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, to do so instead.

  Guardian article

Thank you, Pilate.

Your Tuesday morning surprise

I know you were convinced they would have that constitution hammered out, but...

Iraqi factional leaders failed to meet Monday's deadline for drafting a constitution in an often-rancorous debate that appeared to have widened rifts among Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish and secular groups while slipping from a time line pushed hard by the United States as it considers future troop withdrawals.

  SF Gate article

So they appealed to parliament for a one-week extension, which they got.

Iraqi officials presented the extension as a success. They smiled and shook hands among themselves and with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, who strolled on the floor of parliament ahead of the late-night vote.

"This to my mind is real democracy and proves to the world that Iraq is writing its own constitution," National Assembly speaker Hachem Hassani told members of parliament.

[...]

Even so, none of the major sticking points appeared to have been resolved, and new ones emerged in the last days of the talks.

But at least now Buttie and the Boys can proclaim that the coming week's death and destruction in Iraq is the result of the insurgency making a last great effort to derail Iraq's new freedom. Another one of those "spikes" in the violence, eh?

With hopes fading by early Monday, Western officials were pointing to interpretations of the country's interim U.S.-written charter that they said would technically allow more time for the drafting.

[...]

Under terms of the interim charter, the National Assembly was to dissolve if it failed to meet Monday's deadline, and elections would be held for a new parliament that would try again. The literal 11th-hour vote Monday night -- technically an amendment to the interim constitution -- sidestepped that provision.

Ah, yes. An amendment.

We have ways.

U.S. officials downplayed the significance of the delay, and Bush expressed confidence the Iraqis would reach consensus.

"I applaud the heroic efforts of Iraqi negotiators and appreciate their work to resolve remaining issues through continued negotiation and dialogue," Bush said in a statement. "Their efforts are a tribute to democracy and an example that difficult problems can be solved peacefully through debate, negotiation and compromise."

  Chicago Sun Times article

All options are on the table, of course. And force is only used as a last resort.

[T]he last-minute decision to postpone the deadline raised serious questions about the ability of Iraq's varied factions to make the necessary political compromises. Some Iraqi citizens were worried about the exposed fractures in the country's leadership.

"We are disappointed because we risked our lives when we went out to polling stations, but now we see each political bloc searching for its own interests," said Taha Sabir in Baghdad. "We expected a better life, but we got only many crises such as electricity and fuel shortages."

If agreement on a constitution is reached, Iraqis will vote around Oct. 15 to accept or reject the charter, leading to more elections in December for the country's first new government under the new constitution.

At which times, you may expect more "spikes" in the violence, right Rums?
But let's back up a minute. If they vote to accept or reject the charter (by which I assume the reporter means "constitution") in October, then the December elections are dependent upon acceptance. If there's no new constitution, how can there be elections for the country's first new government? I think they'd be back to square one: voting a new parliament to attempt to hash out a new constitution. Kind of where they are now.

Of course, I could be wrong.

We have ways.

Meanwhile, Iraqi troops clashed with guards of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's Iraqi National Accord, leaving several guards injured, a statement by the group said Tuesday.

However, an official at Allawi's office, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not permitted to speak to reporters, said the incident occurred Aug. 7 between soldiers and guards near the Iraqi National Accord's main office in western Baghdad.

He said one guard was seriously wounded and is still in hospital. It was not clear why the group waited more than a week to release the statement.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Another asset

A former Washington-area man accused in court papers of being the “American contact” for an Osama bin Laden “front organization” is now believed to be working for the new Iraqi government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [...]

  MSNBC article

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Constitutional woes

American and U.N. diplomats stepped up pressure Saturday on Sunni Arabs to accept a new constitution with only two days before the deadline for its approval. A top Sunni official said his group would never accept terms that would lead to the division of the country.

President Jalal Talabani predicted a draft constitution will be ready by Monday's deadline, and a Kurdish official said the draft would be presented to parliament with or without Sunni approval.

[...]

According to the country's interim charter, the constitution will be void if it is rejected by two-thirds of voters in three of the 18 provinces. Sunni Arabs are a majority in four.

  Yahoo News article

A very promising start to a free, democratic and stable Iraq.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Shedding the unreality

The Bush administration is significantly lowering expectations of what can be achieved in Iraq, recognizing that the United States will have to settle for far less progress than originally envisioned during the transition due to end in four months, according to U.S. officials in Washington and Baghdad.

The United States no longer expects to see a model new democracy, a self-supporting oil industry or a society in which the majority of people are free from serious security or economic challenges, U.S. officials say.

"What we expected to achieve was never realistic given the timetable or what unfolded on the ground," said a senior official involved in policy since the 2003 invasion. "We are in a process of absorbing the factors of the situation we're in and shedding the unreality that dominated at the beginning."

  WaPo article

So then, now what is the reason we invaded Iraq? What "mission" will we have "accomplished"?

"Iraqis are taking control of their country, building a free nation that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself. And we're helping Iraqis succeed," President Bush said yesterday in his radio address.

[...]

But the realities of daily life are a constant reminder of how the initial U.S. ambitions have not been fulfilled in ways that Americans and Iraqis once anticipated. Many of Baghdad's 6 million people go without electricity for days in 120-degree heat. Parents fearful of kidnapping are keeping children indoors.

Barbers post signs saying they do not shave men, after months of barbers being killed by religious extremists. Ethnic or religious-based militias police the northern and southern portions of Iraq. Analysts estimate that in the whole of Iraq, unemployment is 50 percent to 65 percent.

[...]

Water is also a "tough, tough" situation in a desert country, said a U.S. official in Baghdad familiar with reconstruction issues. Pumping stations depend on electricity, and engineers now say the system has hundreds of thousands of leaks.

[...]

Oil production is estimated at 2.22 million barrels a day, short of the goal of 2.5 million. Iraq's pre-war high was 2.67 million barrels a day.

[...]

Attacks on U.S. convoys by insurgents using roadside bombs have doubled over the past year, Army Brig. Gen. Yves Fontaine said Friday. Convoys ferrying food, fuel, water, arms and equipment from Kuwait, Jordan and Turkey are attacked about 30 times a week, Fontaine said.

[...]

Killings of members of the Iraqi security force have tripled since January. Iraq's ministry of health estimates that bombings and other attacks have killed 4,000 civilians in Baghdad since Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari's interim government took office April 28.

Last week was the fourth-worst week of the whole war for U.S. military deaths in combat, and August already is the worst month for deaths of members of the National Guard and Reserve.

[...]

"We've said we won't leave a day before it's necessary. But necessary is the key word -- necessary for them or for us? When we finally depart, it will probably be for us," a U.S. official said.

[...]

The ferocious debate over a new constitution has particularly driven home the gap between the original U.S. goals and the realities after almost 28 months. The U.S. decision to invade Iraq was justified in part by the goal of establishing a secular and modern Iraq that honors human rights and unites disparate ethnic and religious communities.

But whatever the outcome on specific disputes, the document on which Iraq's future is to be built will require laws to be compliant with Islam. Kurds and Shiites are expecting de facto long-term political privileges. And women's rights will not be as firmly entrenched as Washington has tried to insist, U.S. officials and Iraq analysts say.

"We set out to establish a democracy, but we're slowly realizing we will have some form of Islamic republic," said another U.S. official familiar with policymaking from the beginning, who like some others interviewed would speak candidly only on the condition of anonymity. "That process is being repeated all over."

Well, we didn't really set out to establish a democracy; only to oust Hussein and replace him with someone more amenable to our demands. I'd say we really pulled a boner on this one, and didn't even get any side benefits.

No, wait. Halliburton is rolling in dough.

We will. We won't. We will. Uh, no, we won't.

Iraq's leaders and military will be unable to lead the fight against insurgents until next summer at the earliest, a top U.S. military official said Wednesday, trying to temper any hopes that a full-scale American troop withdrawal was imminent as Iraq moves toward elections scheduled for December.

Both Americans and Iraqis need "to start thinking about and talking about what it's really going to be like in Iraq after elections," said the military official, who spoke in an interview on the condition he not be named. "I think the important point is there's not going to be a fundamental change. [...]You're still going to have an insurgency, you're still going to have a dilapidated infrastructure, you're still going to have decades of developmental problems both on the economic and the political side."

  WaPo article

Yeah, I'd guess he didn't want to be named. Because the next thing he'd find himself would be canned.

Baghdad's mayor gets the boot

Baghdad's mayor has been sacked by the Iraqi government, in circumstances that he has described as "dangerous" and "undemocratic".

A government spokesman said Alaa al-Tamimi was fired on Monday, although he refused to elaborate further.

However, Mr Tamimi himself said 120 gunmen stormed his office and installed the provincial governor in his place.

He said tensions had broken out between him and Shia members of the provincial council in recent weeks.

"Acts like these set a very dangerous precedent for a country that wants to be free and democratic," Mr Tamimi told the Reuters news agency.

  BBC article

Methinks it is going to be a long, hard ... what was Rumsfiend's word? ... slog?

Curses. Foiled again.

Wed Jul 27, 7:53 AM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Wednesday and urged Iraqis to finish their draft constitution before an Aug. 15 deadline.

"We don't want any delays," Rumsfeld told reporters. "Now's the time to get on with it."

  Yahoo News article

Sunday July 31, 2005 11:01 AM

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The committee writing the new Iraqi constitution decided Sunday to ask parliament for a 30-day extension to finish the draft, members said.

  Guardian article

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Sure, it's their fault

Visiting US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Iraqi leaders to "get on with it" in preparing a new constitution on Wednesday [...]

[...]

Rumsfeld, on an unannounced visit to Baghdad, called on Iraqi leaders to draft and approve a constitution without delay, warning that any hold-up would fan the insurgency.

  Sify article

I wonder how that went over. Oh, wait. He didn't exactly say it to their faces.

"Now's the time to get on with it," Rumsfeld told the travelling press as he flew in from Tajikistan for talks with Iraqi leaders and US commanders.

Chicken hawk.

Doesn't matter. Iraq's new buddy isn't going to be the USA.

Iran's Minister of Industries Es'haq Jahangiri said that Iran is ready to contribute to reconstruction of Iraq's industries.

  Iran News article

Don't get your panties in a wad. We're going to bomb Iran pretty soon. They'll be needing that money for their own reconstruction.

Humam al-Hamoudi, the head of the constitution drafting committee in the Iraqi parliament, has called a leadership summit for Thursday and Friday to discuss the current draft. I interpret this move as a sign that the committee itself is deadlocked.

  Juan Cole post

Cole quotes some of the draft, including this interesting paragraph (parenthetical portions exist in the draft itself, denoting areas of contention):

The second paragraph says: "Islam is the official religion of state, and is the fundamental source of legislation. It is impermissible to pass legislation that contradicts its essential verities or its laws (its essential verities about which there is consensus). This constitution safeguards the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people (in its Shiite majority and its Sunnis) and respects all the rights of the other religions.

Is that a bit contradictory? Islam is law, but other religions are respected.

And it sure looks to be like we bought those Iraqis their freedom and democracy, albeit at the high price of blood...

Paragraph 11 says, "Thought and practice, under whatever rubric, is forbidden that adopts racism, or declaring a Muslim to be an infidel, or terrorism . . . especially the Saddami Baath. It is not permitted for it to be part of political pluralism in the state."

The ellipses cut out language that seems to be proposed to make praising or instigating any of these things illegal. This paragraph probably is influenced by post-war German law making Nazi extremism illegal.

Mission accomplished.

Read the rest of Cole's analysis.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.