Michelle Malkin » Guns in the desert; inside Iraqi politics

Guns in the desert; inside Iraqi politics

By Michelle Malkin • February 26, 2008 10:00 AM

Two good reads for you this morning from independent citizen journalists:

1) A tell-it-like-is report from blogger Michael Totten in Al Anbar searching for IEDs and weapons caches with American troops. Look for the Geraldo Rivera joke.

2) An in-depth, four-part series inside Iraqi politics from blogger Bill Ardolino. Part I examines the executive branch and overall politica goals. Part II looks at progress in executive branch reform. Part III looks at the legislative branch. Part IV looks at the budget and oil profit-sharing.

A last installment will examine “the status of more pieces of legislation considered important for stability and reconciliation, including the Unified Retirement Law, de-Baathification reform, the General Amnesty Law, the referendum on Kirkuk, the Provincial Powers Act and the Provincial Elections Law.”

Takeaway from Part III:

While the media has focused on a narrative of unrelenting sectarianism as the cause of the [Council of Representatives'] inertia on passing legislation, many American officials believe this view ignores some context, including the decentralized design of the government under the Iraqi constitution and a lack of experience with democracy among Iraqi officials.

“[Sectarianism] is clearly an element; political parties are formed along sectarian lines and political blocs, too,” said [Phil Reeker, Counselor for Public Affairs at the State Department]. “That’s not uncommon in countries all over the world. That does not have to be a recipe for disaster. What it means is finding the mechanisms under the constitution they have to get through those things and do what it takes to govern, so that all the parties in government and the citizenry can feel secure and comfortable.”

And despite the splintered character of the country’s political and demographic makeup, as well as the enhanced sectarianism that flared during the bloody conflict in 2006, both Americans and Iraqis are quick to describe the existence of a strong nationalistic sentiment in Iraq.

“There’s a sort of nationalism in Iraq that frankly people don’t realize,” said Reeker. “Sectarianism is not as etched or hard-wired into the society here … as people think based on what was absolutely brutal, horrific sectarian violence … after the Samarra mosque bombing in 2006. If you look back in history, Iraq was a place where the Sunnis and Shia mixed, it was a place where there was a certain strong Arab nationalism. So [reconciliation is] something they have to keep working. They have these very difficult debates, but they have found certain mechanisms … to get some of this done, whether it’s passing budgets, executing them, getting money moved out to the provinces.”

With improved security, only time will reveal if such nationalism will result in sufficient accord within the Iraqi legislature. Many US officials shun the term “reconciliation” in favor of “accommodation,” given the difficult diversity of Iraq’s sects, ethnicities, and interests.

Both Ardolino and Totten are doing excellent work.

Support their work and put something in their donation tip jars: INDCJournal (donation button in the right-hand margin) and Michael J. Totten (scroll to the bottom for PayPal button).

Posted in: Blogosphere, Iraq

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#1

On February 26th, 2008 at 11:46 am, Blind_Mule said:

“I feel like Geraldo Rivera,” Sergeant Phillips said. “We’re gonna open it up! We’re gonna open it up! Doh! There’s nothing in there!”

He was right, they did’nt find anything just like Geraldo, the difference is they are’nt lousy journalists looking to make a name for themselves.

It’s good to hear that the soldiers are bored, thats a good thing, It will take the Iraqi government time to make the changes but I am willing to be patient.
I hope by September we can see more political development in the Iraqi government.

The surge is’nt working my ars. Dimwitted Dimocrats have staked their whole reputation on American defeat, It will undoubtedly come back to bite their two faces off.
#2

On February 26th, 2008 at 11:59 am, madchef said:

Thanks, Michelle on the post. It’s amazing how many different factions comprise the Iraqi government. They are making progress, albeit slow, but progress all the same. Considering how seldom our two parties agree on things in this country, that the Iraqis are trying to build a democracy with 17 or so various factions is an absolut miracle.
#3

On February 26th, 2008 at 1:57 pm, emjem24 said:

Michelle:

Thanks so much for your posting of these two blog reports. They were insightful as well as informational.

It’s incredible how much danger citizen journalists put themselves in to report the news that the MSM either won’t or isn’t interested in reporting. As a military spouse, I’m glad that at least someone is following what’s going on in Iraq.

Totten really demonstrates why we can’t retreat from Iraq yet. The US military has just built up these blossoming relationships with previous hostile Al Anbar hot spots. Every time I see either Hilly or Obummer tout how they’ll pull the troops out it just grates on my nerves.

If the Dims pull the rug out from under the military they undo all the hard work the American military has put into getting Iraq back on track.
#4

On February 26th, 2008 at 3:04 pm, ArmoredCAV said:

Sectarian Strife is everywhere. I see the results of it pretty much daily. Houses and neighborhoods are empty, whether driven off by JAM, JAI, or AQI, and it is a miserable circle of revenge and preservation of honor. Even though not all fall under its spell, all Iraqis feel the pressure created by it. Nice parties like JAM will put the heat on moderate folks trying to stake out some normalcy. But amidst that,and really despite that, there is some reconciliation going on. We have multiple Shi’a families moving back into our predominantly Sunni neighborhood. If we can get the Sunni to accept the Shi’a security forces, we will be making money. this is a hard prospect, as the Sunni locals view the Shi’a security forces as an arm of the “illegitimate government” rather than a national security force that treats both sects equally. Makes it fun.
#5

On February 26th, 2008 at 5:27 pm, zyzzyg said:

I have always questioned whether the Iraqis can be trusted.

I always wished our politicians would be asked if they trust the Iraqis, on many levels … Police, Military, Political, etc. There is obvious trust between the unit in Totten’s Blog and the Iraqis.

What really bothers me is that our military still does not have the equipment that they need. Good grief, why don’t they have metal detectors? Support the troops should mean that they should not want for anything on any level at any time.