Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[goodluck]

LOL -- keep on posting -- sooner or later we will know who is posting propaganda
Got that right, though somehow I have a feeling that all of us "know" this already. I'm sure Jerry Bremer was returning to Washington in order to tell the Bush admin how well everything is going, maybe even how they are ahead of plan in getting Iraqi security forces who are loyal to the US, I mean Iraqi democracy, on the streets and ready to fight the Saddam bitterenders. As usual the "liberal" Wash Post has it all wrong (see below for the full article)--In September, Bremer outlined a seven-step plan for Iraqi sovereignty. "It's beginning to be realized that it's not going to follow that path," said one administration official involved in Iraq policy in Washington. Bremer is certainly right in believing that Asserting that the existing Iraqi constitution is a "Hussein-dictated formula for tyranny," Bremer said no Iraqi government could be elected without a permanent constitution that defines and limits government powers. To do so, Bremer wrote in a Sept. 8 op-ed piece in The Washington Post, "invites confusion and eventual abuse." The problem is that the situation in Iraq is such that such a government will find it impossible to actually govern any time soon. And that, my friend, is one of (though not the only) the reasons why this whole adventure was crazy and doomed from the beginning, why we ought to have allowed Saddam to remain in power until Al Qaeda was dealt with.



Bremer Returns to Washington Amid Frustration in Iraq

By Peter Slevin and Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, November 11, 2003; 2:57 PM


L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, returned unexpectedly to Washington for high level consultations amid continued frustration with the performance of Iraq's U.S.-appointed Governing Council, administration officials said Tuesday.


Bremer met today at the White House with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to consider changes in the workings of the Governing Council and the timing of Iraq's transition to self-governance, including a new Iraqi constitution and elected government, officials said.

In September, Bremer outlined a seven-step plan for Iraqi sovereignty. "It's beginning to be realized that it's not going to follow that path," said one administration official involved in Iraq policy in Washington. "And we need some kind of provisional government that we can give some kind of authority to. The whole political piece is a work in progress. He's got a lot of work to do."

Bremer's mission will be to "consult, consult, consult," particularly on Iraq's political structure, the official said.

Another official said, "There's been a series of discussions that [Bremer] has had with the Governing Council over the last several weeks, since his last round here. This is an opportunity to engage with the principles here as to the results of his discussions with the Governing Council as to how they can develop an executive decision making function."

One issue under discussion is the sequence of restoring sovereignty to Iraq. The Bush administration appears to be backing away from its earlier insistence that a constitution must be written and ratified by nationwide referendum before Iraqis gain significant sovereignty.

Bremer cancelled a meeting on Tuesday with visiting Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller, the Polish delegation said, according to the Reuters news agency. Officials in the U.S.-led administration had no immediate comment on Bremer's trip to Washington.

The administration, anxious to speed the stabilization of Iraq, is frustrated with the hand-picked Iraqi Governing Council, which has been slow to organize itself and demonstrate the ability to take more control.

U.S. officials have complained that council members have spent more time pursuing their own interests than pulling together in a time of crisis. If only the council would become more effective, American officials have said, the Iraqis would be granted greater responsibilities over their own affairs.

The council has done "nothing of substance" since it was appointed in late August, a U.S. official in Baghdad asserted the other day. It has failed to set policy or communicate well, said the official, who described the council as being "inept" at reaching Iraqis.

Without Iraqi leadership there can be no legitimacy, administration officials have made clear. Governing Council members have countered that there can be no real leadership or legitimacy as long as the United States occupies Iraq. Council members have been lobbying hard for more authority.

Influential members of the U.N. Security Council have argued that Iraqis must be given responsibility sooner rather than later. They offered as an example Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, appointed to lead the country with United Nations and U.S. help while other institutions are being developed.

Asserting that the existing Iraqi constitution is a "Hussein-dictated formula for tyranny," Bremer said no Iraqi government could be elected without a permanent constitution that defines and limits government powers. To do so, Bremer wrote in a Sept. 8 op-ed piece in The Washington Post, "invites confusion and eventual abuse."

The Governing Council is facing a Dec. 15 deadline to produce a timetable for drafting a new constitution and holding elections. Bremer has said he hopes to hold elections by the end of 2004.

Washington Post staff writers Thomas E. Ricks and Fred Barbash contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25356-2003Nov11.html/?nav=yb-t3