Rattlesnake Ridge      

 
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“As the Arab Spring drives change across our region, bringing the hope of democracy and reform to millions of Arabs, less attention is being paid to the plight of Iraq and its people. We were the first to transition from dictatorship to democracy, but the outcome in Iraq remains uncertain. Our transition could be a positive agent for progress, and against the forces of extremism, or a dangerous precedent that bodes ill for the region and the international community. Debate rages in Baghdad and Washington around conditions for a U.S. troop extension beyond the end of this year. While such an extension may be necessary, that alone will not address the fundamental problems festering in Iraq. Those issues present a growing risk to Middle East stability and the world community. The original U.S. troop “surge” was meant to create the atmosphere for national political reconciliation and the rebuilding of Iraq’s institutions and infrastructure. But those have yet to happen. ……..”
He closes his piece with this: “Ayad Allawi, a former prime minister of Iraq, leads the largest political bloc in Iraq’s Parliament……” If this was true, why isn’t he the prime minister?
 
Mr. Allawi is ‘hinting’ that if he were PM, the SOFA would be extended, perhaps strengthened, even as he says it is not the ‘main’ issue. Mr. Allawi is inviting the West, especially the USA, to intervene even more deeply in Iraqi politics again. He is inviting the West to intervene in Iraq for his benefit. He even talks of the Arab Spring, even as his “Arabian” patrons are busy with their counter-revolution against the Arab Spring. Spoken like a true self-serving Ba’athist, if only a former Ba’athist.
Mr. Allawi should just go away, spend more of his time visiting his patrons, flying between Abu Dhabi, Manama, Riyadh, Amman, Damascus, and Cairo (sorry, scratch Damascus and Cairo). He is becoming the Harold Stassen (look him up) of Iraqi politics.
(This is definitely not an endorsement of the current Iraqi government or parliament. It is barely less corrupt than most Arab potentates. That corruption also includes Allawi’s political allies in Iraq).
Cheers
mhg


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