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| Iraq |
| Oh - They Approved the Plan, BTW |
| 2007-01-26 |
| IraqÂ’s Shiite prime minister and Sunni lawmakers hurled insults at one another during a raucous session of Parliament on Thursday, with the prime minister threatening a Sunni lawmaker with arrest and the Sunni speaker of Parliament threatening to quit. The article goes on to detail the stormy parliamentary session (humorously linking Sunni parliamentarians and "critics" of Bush's plan as skeptical of Maliki's likelihood to crack down on Shi'a). For 27 paragraphs. Then, in the 28th paragraph .... Eventually, though, the tensions eased and Parliament approved the security plan. Hmm, any questions about why even a majority of war supporters often display panic about the situation in Iraq? Non-stop, 24/7 distortion - this is far from the worst, of course - and something approaching silence from the guvamint. Heard a clip of Cheney yesterday. He made a reference to media failure, showing they're aware of what's going on. But no response, not in the game, lo these years later, after the country is spooked, panicked, and whining like a little girl. Outrageous. |
| Posted by:Verlaine |
| #11 EU6305: Lebanon is on the ropes because of Iranian and Syrian interference. There's a solution to that problem. |
| Posted by: Classical_Liberal 2007-01-26 21:39 |
| #10 Reminiscent of the Senate Fist Fight of 1902. |
| Posted by: doc 2007-01-26 20:05 |
| #9 #8 OP - question time is a scream. When John Major was PM he could more than hold his own. I wish I could have seen Margaret Thatcher in action. :-D |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-01-26 17:31 |
| #8 I watched a couple of hours of "debate" on BBC in England when I was stationed there. It sounds very much like what I see described here - six or seven hours of yelling at each other, then a vote to go ahead with whatever was under "discussion". Their election politics are even more vituperous. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-01-26 15:42 |
| #7 What a major accomplishment for democracy in Iraq. To think that in just three years, the Iraqis have reached the same level in parliamentary discourse as the Japanese (50 years), and the Taiwanese (20 years). Four years ago, Saddam would have had most of 'em run through the chipper. |
| Posted by: mrp 2007-01-26 15:34 |
| #6 I heard an opinion last night, not necessarily my own, that this may the turning point toward victory in this war. The reason being that these people appear to have finally realized that if they don't get their act together they will lose American support altogether and be left to their own devices against the tender mercies of Al Qaeda and Iran. Tater may have finally decided to go along because the word is that the troop surge will be aimed at killing people and breaking things in Sadr City whether Maliki approves or not. I hope it's true but it looks to me like the record of muslim democracy is dismal at best so far. The Paleos have completely cocked it up and the Lebs are on the ropes. Seems as though they'd rather kill each other than sit, think and discuss. Maybe it just takes time for these new concepts to sink in. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-01-26 15:07 |
| #5 There isn't even words for how bad the media has been IRT Iraq. If history is any indicator, we might not even hear from them that the Iraqi Government approved this. On top of that, Feingold just upped the bar. He is getting an email from me tonight as well as every Republican on the hill and Loserman urging them to go on the offensive against his bill, and the press. Most solid Americans love our men and women in uniform. A good domestic offensive could have opinion polls turning around by March. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2007-01-26 14:13 |
| #4 Much like the defeatists in the USA. "OH YEAH, we oppose Bush's War, but we most certainly approve of his choice for commanding general in Iraq and, therefore, we vote to confirm General Patreus. The cowards in congress cover their asses. |
| Posted by: Mark Z 2007-01-26 14:03 |
| #3 Crosspatch, thanks, I'd seen that factoid too from Omar (unanimous approval of the govt. plan), but forgot to add that item, which dramatically reinforces my point. And Glenmore, I had the same thought - in fact, the S. Korean, Taiwanese, and Israeli parliaments (as well as a few in Latin America and elsewhere) exhibit this sort of raucous behavior. Funny, nobody is tsk-tsk'ing about how those places can't handle democracy, or otherwise trying to make mileage out of what is a frequent scene on the historical stage. As readers here know, I'm a huge believer that politics in Iraq at this stage need to be advanced with a lot of non-political activity (i.e., violence and coercion) - but there is a political component, and now some political channels through which to act or cut deals. The embassy/USG over-played that aspect too early, but the existence of these channels at this point, in these conditions, is an accomplishment in itself (forever to remain a secret to the world and the US public, as the media provides a distorted historically illiterate picture, and the WH sits there with duct-tape over its mouth). |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2007-01-26 14:00 |
| #2 Sounds almost like the Chinese (Taiwan) legislature in action. Or US, circa 1820. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-01-26 13:41 |
| #1 According to an article in Pajamas Media written by, I believe, Omar of Iraq the Model, not only did the plan pass but despite the bickering it passed unanimously. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2007-01-26 13:36 |