Leading Iraqis Get Practical
If one were to ask President Bush to make sense of his strategy in Iraq, he would likely suggest that by providing stability, the Iraqi government could work toward reconciliation and an end to sectarian bloodletting, but according to several key Iraqi leaders, that just isn't going to happen. Better, they argue, to focus on the basics of governing and providing services that Iraqis continue to suffer without.If one were to ask President Bush to make sense of his strategy in Iraq, he would likely suggest that by providing stability, the Iraqi government could work toward reconciliation and an end to sectarian bloodletting, but according to several key Iraqi leaders, that just isn’t going to happen. Better, they argue, to focus on the basics of governing and providing services that Iraqis continue to suffer without.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...Washington Post:
For much of this year, the U.S. military strategy in Iraq has sought to reduce violence so that politicians could bring about national reconciliation, but several top Iraqi leaders say they have lost faith in that broad goal.
Iraqi leaders argue that sectarian animosity is entrenched in the structure of their government. Instead of reconciliation, they now stress alternative and perhaps more attainable goals: streamlining the government bureaucracy, placing experienced technocrats in positions of authority and improving the dismal record of providing basic services.
“I don’t think there is something called reconciliation, and there will be no reconciliation as such,” said Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, a Kurd. “To me, it is a very inaccurate term. This is a struggle about power.”
This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Book Review
Ezra Klein’s new book is supercharging elites’ campaign to deter Democrats from challenging billionaires and corporate power.
TD Column
The imminent government-wide implementation of Schedule F will go far toward transforming the federal bureaucracy into an extension of presidential power.
About 340 official documents, notices, receipts and internal memos obtained by The Guardian show that Islamic State is also made up of bureaucrats and civil servants that have “set themselves to work creating rules and regulations on everything from fishing and dress codes to the sale of counterfeit brands and university admission systems.”
Salon contributor Elias Isquith asked former university academic, author and activist David Graeber what made him want to write a book about bureaucracy.
A controversial area of law empowers the IRS to confiscate significant sums of money from "run-of-the-mill business owners and wage earners without so much as an allegation" and "without ever filing a criminal complaint," leaving the owners "to prove they are innocent," The New York Times reports.
Jon Stewart takes us through the new sanctions against Iran that many in our dysfunctional Congress are considering. He also interviews former Defense Secretary Robert Gates about his new book "Duty."
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.