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Iraq | |
UN chief warns of anti-American backlash in Iraq | |
2003-05-27 | |
The UN's most senior humanitarian official in Iraq warned yesterday that US attempts to rebuild the country were overly dominated by "ideology" and risked triggering a violent backlash. Ramiro Lopes da Silva said the sudden decision last week to demobilise 400,000 Iraqi soldiers without any re-employment programme could generate a "low-intensity conflict" in the countryside. Leaving 400,000 guys with rifles around could cause a high-intensity conflict. "The reconstruction of minds is as important. We cannot force through an ideological process too much," said Mr Lopes da Silva, 54, a Portuguese UN official who served in Angola and Afghanistan before becoming the humanitarian coordinator in Iraq last year. Um, Ramiro, having lots of defeated soldiers with guns is bad. It's sorta how things work — the victors disarm the losers. In unusually So it's okay with you if we shoot looters, run the Baathists out and demobilize the army, right? Thank you Mr. Obvious.
da Silva is one of these disappointed mopes. Arab specialists from the state department have been largely excluded and while British diplomats have had some influence on decision-making, the UN has hardly been consulted. So State is on the sidelines, the Brits have influence and the UN is not in the building? Good. Mr Lopes da Silva said the UN So it would be better to leave them armed and dangerous? "The way the decision was taken leaves them "And we're very angry at the UN that the US hasn't completely fixed the problems of Iraq in a month!" Even US generals admitted at the time they feared the decision could worsen the lawlessness and looting. Mr Lopes da Silva said the demobilisation, along with tightened security in the capital, could force looters into the less well-guarded countryside. "What you are potentially going to create is more banditry and a low-intensity conflict in the rural areas," he said. "These edicts are seen very much just as ideological statements." No, it's part of security. We're not going to leave an Iraqi army around to cause trouble. Mr Lopes da Silva also questioned the authority's de-Ba'athification programme, under which up to 30,000 Ba'ath party officials are automatically excluded from office. "Many bureaucrats who have important experience that would help the new government were only Baath party members on paper," he said. "They were only following orders!" On Sunday, the UN started its own re-employment programme which it hopes will provide 250,000 jobs in the next six months. Officials will now see if it can be expanded to include some Iraqi soldiers. The UN ??? is going to employ a quarter-million people? Sounds like an enormous Palestinian refugee camp in the making. | |
Posted by:Steve White |
#8 UN chief warns of anti-American backlash in Iraq **yawn** Faster please... |
Posted by: Celissa 2003-05-27 20:20:48 |
#7 Sad to say, but we didn't kill enough bad people in the war. Iraq doesn't realize it has been defeated. Too many thugs are still running around there spreading rhetorical poison; soon maybe real poison. |
Posted by: eric 2003-05-27 11:52:07 |
#6 Miffed that their gold booty was confiscated before its arrival at the 'Iranian Bribe Office' militant religious members, using a sharia eddict, triggered a violent backlash. Firing from a mosque known as a pious place of whoreship |
Posted by: Lucky 2003-05-27 10:59:05 |
#5 Having the UN hire ex Baathists to 'help rebuild Iraq' would be poet. |
Posted by: mhw 2003-05-27 10:21:41 |
#4 UPDATED REPORT ON ATTACK AT AL FALLUJAHCAMP DOHA, Kuwait -- An updated report confirmed that another soldier was killed and two more injured following the attack on a U.S. Army unit in Al Fallujah early this morning. |
Posted by: Chuck 2003-05-27 10:12:31 |
#3 Nice to see the Religion of Peace™ followers used a mosque to fire RPGs in the latest attack - 2 dead U.S. soldiers...bastards |
Posted by: Frank G 2003-05-27 09:35:07 |
#2 The UN's most senior humanitarian official in Iraq warned yesterday that US attempts to rebuild the country were overly dominated by "ideology" and risked triggering a violent backlash. Is there any particular reason why yet another UN official should be listened to?? |
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-05-27 09:04:21 |
#1 One of the neat things that I've found is that Central Command issues daily press releases. Of course, we never see them in the media, but they are on the Net. Central Command Police Blotter May 27 Aid Progress May 27 I've been putting them up on my blog because I don't think they're getting seen enough. I got a kick out of the raid on the "chop shop" on today's blotter. |
Posted by: Chuck 2003-05-27 08:12:41 |