Iraqi politicians collude with ignorant Westerners

Some Excerpts from an excellent article by Reidar Visser on Monday, 24 January 2011 15:19



The obvious contrast to the Iraqi national soccer team is the Iraqi political scene. Here some still believe that ethnic and sectarian affiliations are more important than talent: The distribution of key leadership positions almost invariably replicates a scheme in which ethno-sectarian affiliation, rather than ability, is centre stage. Once a Kurdish president had nominated a Shiite premier, the speaker of parliament “had to be” a Sunni. Once a Sunni had become speaker, his two deputies “had to be” a Shiite and a Kurd. In this setting, there is no dynamism and no meritocracy; hence it is unsurprising that the performance of the Iraqi political institutions is invariably substandard.

The practice of allocating top jobs on the basis of ethno-sectarian criteria is a collaborative enterprise in which incompetent Iraqi politicians collude with ignorant Westerners and strong-minded Iranian strategists in order to hide the fact that they are not really qualified for their jobs. In actual fact, their task is simply to provide the best possible services for the Iraqi citizens; yet their inability to do this make them resort to ethno-sectarian demagoguery instead of admitting that they are not really qualified to be part of the squad. The question Iraqi voters should ask themselves is why the notion of a “Kurdish” or “Shiite” or “Sunni” quota should be any more legitimate in government than on the soccer pitch.

During the autumn, just as Joe Biden started his federalism quest in earnest, even ISCI seemed to realise it was a bad idea with a Shiite region. Today, the “soft partition” idea may be dead, but muhasasa remains a problem.

I included Maliki in order to not focus exclusively on Iraqiyya. I would still argue you cannot dismiss Maliki’s performance in mixed constituencies in 2009 (before de-Baathification) or that of Allawi in 2010 as statistically insignificant. Nor should we dismiss Allawi as an exception. Jawad Bulani’s (Shiite) leadership of the “Sunni” Unity of Iraq is another example. Allawi and Bulani aren’t stooges; they are politicians that have sect-neutral qualities.

Iraq: All in government, none in opposition!

Unlike other parliamentary democracies on earth, the Americans have insisted that the Iraqi government should be inclusive. That means all political parties and groupings should be represented in the government. It may sound music to the ears of some but in reality the Americans don’t like any opposition to their policies in occupied Iraq and want to implicate all parties in getting their hand dirty by keeping quiet about the occupation and about the role of the oversized embassy in dirty works. Most of the 29 ministers already approved by parliament today 21.12.2010, with or without portfolios, want a share of Iraq wealth through corrupt practices and kickbacks. They have been recruited and brought to Iraq behind US tanks in order to manage the occupation and to implement USraeli designs in the area. It is the same Nouri Al-Maliki who agreed to have MOSSAD and CIA assassinate 350 Iraqi scientists and university professors. It is the same people who will not ask the Americans to apologise to the Iraqis and to compensate the victims of their illegal war on Iraq. As one Iraqi commentator said “the Iraqi government pig went into labour and delivered a rotten cockroach”. With such a collection of highly-unqualified crooks, profiteers, agents of foreign intelligence agencies and with dual nationalities, the government is expected to fail in developing Iraq, in ending the occupation or in stopping the violence. The Americans love to deal with corrupt people who are ready to betray their countries for a handful of dollars. As the Libyans say “You don’t have to go out to know it is winter”.Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times