Iraq: new PM moving towards martial law

http://www.tnr.com/blog/iraqd?pid=1773

So Iraq has a new puppet dictator and he’s going to junk pretty much all the freedoms of the new Iraq.

Why did we invade again?

Because neocons don’t need to justify their actions to pussy liberals?

Well, Iraq is under martial law now, so I’m not sure why this is so scandalous. What makes less sense is the Bush administration’s apparent belief that everything will be unicorns and rainbows (or even just unicorns) the moment we hand the government over to the Iraqis, thus allowing the new government to instantly transition into a peaceful democratic society.

Nice characterization. Guess that UN process and the selection by the Iraqi governing counsel, and lack of US involvement in the process, can’t overcome the partisanship blinders that give you the view you determined in March, 2003 that you wanted to have, eh?

It better be under martial law.

Nice characterization. Guess that UN process and the selection by the Iraqi governing counsel, and lack of US involvement in the process, can’t overcome the partisanship blinders that give you the view you determined in March, 2003 that you wanted to have, eh?[/quote]

  1. US soldiers will have complete immunity after the handover.
  2. The “sovereignty” we’re giving them is a total joke.

As to “already under martial law”:

Mr. Allawi also plans to bring back the death penalty for both criminals and insurgents, and is considering a wider array of measures, including a potential clampdown on Arabic media that the government considers overly sympathetic to the insurgents, aides said. Among previously denied freedoms that Iraqis generally have enjoyed since the war are freedom to assemble and demonstrate, freedom of the press and freedom of speech. …

http://www.tnr.com/blog/iraqd?pid=1773

The handover will change nothing, other than making the situation look even more like Vietnam.

How will the new Iraqi government stop the bombings? Surely it’s not reasonable to expect them to be considered a regular part of daily life. I’m not advocating martial law, but it does seem like the insurgents are pretty much free to do whatever they want and there will be no stable, lasting government in Iraq as long as that continues.