Iraq has a fictitious government. "Green Zone government."
WHAT IS A GREEN ZONE GOVERNMENT?
Green Zone government is cut off from the people --in the Green Zone comprising four square miles within Baghdad-- cut off by lawlessness, fear, threats and violence. There is no "bridge" between the Green Zone government and the people. All the means through which this would normally occur are missing in today's Iraq.
Green Zone Parliament.
This is a Parliament without a will. With at least one-third of its members residing out of the country, as far away as London, collecting their annual salaries of $120,000., how much do they contribute to the development of democracy? Not much at all. The only reason they wanted a two month recess now is for the core of members who need to stay in the Green Zone most of the time to maintain the FICTION that it is a working Parliament.
Green Zone Parliament meets for a couple of hours once in a while. By the end of this January they had gone several months without a quorum. A recent vote by 144 members (out of 275) was considered a major miracle. The vote said US troops should leave Iraq. Iraq Parliament Finds a Quorum Hard to Come By -
IRAQI BLOGGERS SPEAK OUT
Three Iraqi journalists, Ali Fadhil, Zeyad Kasim of Healingiraq.blogspot.com, and Ayub Nuri, residing in the US for the moment, write blogs on conditions in Iraq. See the Charlie Rose videofrom May 14th, about ten minutes. America needs to hear more from these and other Iraqis who can give us the raw truth.
IRAQI BLOGGERS ---on the government of IRAQ.
[Transcribed by Gorette from video. I apologize for being unable to also attribute the remarks to individuals but they generally agreed.]
There is no trust in the government. It is only the government of a four square miles. The army and police (typically) represent the government to the people. The government is powerless because the army and police are powerless and the people do not trust them. Soldiers amd police in the street are not respected because people do not trust the government. The training of army and police---it's a total failure! You cannot train them to be loyal.
There is no BRIDGE between the people and the government. It is a powerless government. Maliki's government controls nothing. Nothing. It has no political will.
The political process is flawed. Organized in the chaos of 2005. As were the elections.
As a result of the chaos we have a sectarian democracy is the government. Each belongs to his own mullah or own sheik -- it is a fractured government.
Iraqis see the US as cause of violence, and they fear the future. It could become, if the US troops leave, a playground for militias and criminal gangs, warlords and political parties. The US should stay for a few months...
The US created an anarchist state. What I do know is that it is getting worse every day. Very tragic.
Another Iraqi bloggger said yesterday:
Iraqi blogger
Without even knowing what we have done are we paying the price for our blind obedience to Saddam which we were forced to [--] or for not facing the strongest power in the world or because we have supported the people who tricked us and gave them our trust and voted for them, or even for the revenge from ourselves--by killing our neighbors because they are from different sect.
I don't know.
Militias and insurgents are stronger than the Iraqi forces. The militias can at least get equipment for protection. Beleaguered Iraqis now fear their own security forces more than the insurgents. Police and Iraqi Army are composed of Shias and Sunnis, each more loyal to their sect, in this civil war environment, than to the state. People cannot trust either and can "trust" only American troops even though 60% of Iraqis want them to leave and most approve of attacks on US troops! It's called ambiguity. What can you do--besides leave that is?
Bombings, killings, especially Baghdad's sectarian beheadings, kidnappings and general chaos, have caused four million to flee their homes. Two million remain in Iraq, displaced.
This suggests that Parliament and its laws are irrelevant, that the government impotent. Bush keeps telling us that it is a "new" democracy. Well, a "new" democracy, without a will, cannot function or lead the people. The Green Zone government has floundered and failed.
In a sectarian "democracy" it is hard to do anything to solve the huge problems in governing. Problems cannot be solved during a civil war that has led to anarchic chaos. Just about impossible when even one-third of the parliament members are absentee, having fled the country like two million others to live elsewhere. Are they inclined to return, hire 20 security people to get them safely to the Green Zone and risk death?
R. Chandrasekaran, online:
BETHESDA (Question): I feel that the main problem of the current Iraqi government is the fact that it doesn't generate any deep support in the country. For the government to make progress on the issues facing Iraq, issues like going after militias or negotiating an oil-sharing law, it's going to need deep support to make perhaps unpopular decisions./snip/
The current government lacks legitimacy. People may have voted for the parties in power, but I don't think they feel particlarly strongly towards them.
Rajiv Chandrasekaran (Reply): I agree that the lack of legitimacy is a very significant problem for Iraqi political leaders. If members of the government were held in higher esteem among their respective factions in society, those leaders would be able to convince their supporters to accept difficult compromises. Instead, just the opposite is happening: Political leaders are pandering to their constituencies.
Even Republicans are questioning the mysterious entity known as the "Iraqi government." Minority leader, Senator McConnell, speaking of the Iraqi government said May 13th, "I don't know what their problem is."
Sen. McConnell cites Iraqi government failures ...so far they (the Iraqi government)[have] not been able to do anything they promised on the political side," citing their failures to pass a new oil bill, hold local elections and dismantle the former Baath Party of Saddam. "It's a growing frustration." Representativess overwhelmingly feel disappointed about the Iraqi government."
The Kurds are still teetering on withdrawing from the federal government. They already operate as a separate entity.
Kurdish Leader: Oil Law Is a Deal Breaker
To Iraq's Kurdish leadership, the issue of how to apportion the third-largest pools of oil in the world is "a make-or-break deal" for the country as a whole, a top official told UPI.
"The oil issue for us is a red line. It will signify our participation in Iraq or not," Qubad Talabani, son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative to the United States, said...
Technical compliance with the Constitution requirement:
Iraq committee makes some progress on constitution plan
An Iraqi committee agreed on Tuesday to send to parliament a plan to reform the constitution, an important step towards implementing national reconciliation laws that Washington says are critical to ending violence.
He said this would allow it technically to meet a May 15 deadline set by the constitution.
SOME ISSUES LEFT OPEN.... a Shi'ite-backed law that allows provinces to form federal regions, and wording on the Arab identity of Iraq, opposed by Kurds. (Also,) a draft proposal to allow thousands of ex-Baath party members to return to public jobs...
The bills are likely to face fierce debate in parliament.
And a quorum for the Green Zone Parliament is going to be dicey. Especially with all the mortar attacks in the Zone now. Without a REAL government, Iraq cannot be helped short term. Our troops would need to remain for many, many years. We cannot afford to stay ten years in Iraq.
Tags: Iraq, Iraqi Government, Parliament, anarchy, Constitution, oil laws
