Wednesday, June 02, 2004
The New Iraqi Government
The interim government announced this week is a cooperative project of the United Nations, the American Government, and the Iraqi Governing Council, with the additional assistance of a variety of other tribal and ethnic leaders. The end result has not given us the President we might have desired, Adnan Pachachi, but it did produce what appears to be a well-balanced roster. It allows both Iraqis and Americans to go to the Security Council with a united front. It also makes it possible for the members of the government to say that they are not simply American appointees. The only loser so far seems to be Chalabi, and even he may reemerge, this time as an Iraqi nationalist who has thumbed his nose at the Americans.
The Times tells us that the result has little legitimacy. But I think we should wait and see. Brahimi wanted a government of technocrats who would not have further political ambitions. We have gotten the opposite. But this result means that most of the members of this new government have at least some built-in backing in the country. The question now is how much will this government be challenged by those armed groups that want to derail it. In the security area, the new government will have to simultaneously do three things: work out a way to use the Americans for major security purposes without seeming to be (more than they already are) a tool of the occupation, develop reasonably effective security forces of their own (police and army), and work out deals with those militias and other armed groups that are willing to settle for control and or freedom of action in closely defined areas. Of course, what we expect to happen in Kurdish areas provides the easiest model, Falluja may provide another.
The interim government announced this week is a cooperative project of the United Nations, the American Government, and the Iraqi Governing Council, with the additional assistance of a variety of other tribal and ethnic leaders. The end result has not given us the President we might have desired, Adnan Pachachi, but it did produce what appears to be a well-balanced roster. It allows both Iraqis and Americans to go to the Security Council with a united front. It also makes it possible for the members of the government to say that they are not simply American appointees. The only loser so far seems to be Chalabi, and even he may reemerge, this time as an Iraqi nationalist who has thumbed his nose at the Americans.
The Times tells us that the result has little legitimacy. But I think we should wait and see. Brahimi wanted a government of technocrats who would not have further political ambitions. We have gotten the opposite. But this result means that most of the members of this new government have at least some built-in backing in the country. The question now is how much will this government be challenged by those armed groups that want to derail it. In the security area, the new government will have to simultaneously do three things: work out a way to use the Americans for major security purposes without seeming to be (more than they already are) a tool of the occupation, develop reasonably effective security forces of their own (police and army), and work out deals with those militias and other armed groups that are willing to settle for control and or freedom of action in closely defined areas. Of course, what we expect to happen in Kurdish areas provides the easiest model, Falluja may provide another.
Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
