The Zelikow Plan

"The Bush administration is deliberating whether to abandon U.S. reconciliation efforts with Sunni insurgents and instead give priority to Shiites and Kurds, who won elections and now dominate the government, according to U.S. officials."  Wright

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The WAPO correctly "paired" these two articles on its website.  They are examples of the closely integrated fabric of goofiness that characterizes the administration's policy in the Middle East.

The Zellikow notion of "sponsoring" Shia and Kurdish subjugation of the Sunni Arabs is breathtaking.  It is so grotesque that it is virtually certain to be the policy choice of the moment.  Is this the Bush/Maliki deal?  The idea seems to be that we would concentrate on arming the already mostly Shia army and police while participating with them in an attempt to completely subjugate the Sunni Arabs.

1- This proves that the neocons are still in charge of this administration's policy.  An effort to hand Iraq over to the Shia lay at the heart of neocon ambitions in Iraq.  Evidently, it still does.

2- Does the Zellikow plan take into account what the reaction of the Sunni countries will be to an American/Shia alliance against their co-religionists?  Obeid, the Saudi government adviser, warned last week in the WAPO that if the United States abandoned Iraq's Sunnis, then the Sunni countries would feel it necessary to increase assistance to the Sunni Arabs of Iraq (read insurgents).  Gasoline on the fire, that is what the Zellikow plan amount to.

Answer me this:  Why is it that Shia "opposition" in Lebanon is a bad thing but the Shia government in Iraq is a good thing.  Why is that?  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/30/AR2006113001710.html

"The official purpose of the third annual session of the U.S.-backed Forum for the Future was to promote democracy around the world. But there were no plans for a joint statement on universal freedoms, since efforts to compose such a missive at last year's forum meeting dissolved into bickering."  Kessler

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Let's see how this was supposed to "go down."  First we get the governments to the meeting, then we get them to sign some sort of "universal" declaration on human rights, then in a year or so we declare them to be in "violation" of their own undertakings about "democracy," and therefore rightly subject to sanctions or worse as "law breakers" of some sort.

Does this sound familiar?  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/01/AR2006120100384.html

Comments

[ked]

hell, WE need an Ataturk.

[Will]

always good reading at nur-al-cubicle who combs the french and italian press

Debate with Patrice Claude, Senior Le Monde reporter for Iraq, Thursday 30 November, 11:00 am

"Q. Does the conflict between Shi’a and Sunnis result from genuine tensions between the two groups or from the US invasion?

A. Without a doubt, it results form the US invasion. The Americans committed a host of errors from the beginning. They contributed in “communitizing” the government: for the Shi’a, the Sunni, the Arabs, the Kurds and the Christians. Through willing ignorance they set the stage for what is taking place today. However, I don’t believe for a second that they are promoting the spread of this confessional plague. I think they belatedly, as usual, realized their mistake, and now they don’t know how to put the country back together again. "

for the whole translated article and a link to the french http://nuralcubicle.blogspot.com/

[ali]

Mohammed over at Iraq The Model experiences the 80% solution:
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/2006/11/rough-days.html
There are about 27 million Iraqis. I'll call that Sunni 20% 6 million just for historical resonance.

More than 1.6 million Iraqi's have fled the country, another 1.8 million have been internally displaced. This is more than 10% of the population and it's includes most of the Iraqi intelligentsia from whatever sect. This is just the beginning and a problem DC shamefully refuses to acknowledge.

http://electroniciraq.net/news/2558.shtml
"Iraq has seen the largest and most recent displacement of any UNHCR project in the world, yet even as more Iraqis are displaced and as their needs increase, the funds to help them are decreasing," said Harper. "This growing humanitarian crisis has simply gone under the radar screen of most donors.
...
From a high of US $150 million in 2003, the UNHCR budget for its Iraq programme fell to just $29 million in 2006. One quarter of that budget is allocated to meeting the needs of Iraqi refugees in neighbouring countries Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon."

I hear the UN has $6/Year/Iraqi refugee in Syria. The Jordanians, are already being swamped:
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/11/30/jordan14721.htm
The new Palestinians living next to the old Palestinians ethnically cleansed into Jordan sixty years ago.

And you can bet this will be more than a humanitarian crisis the Iraqi Sunni are a far tougher and resourceful bunch than the feeble former olive tree owners the IDF slaps around for sport.

[Lightflyer]

The USA needs an Ataturk!

[canuck]

When I look at the Middle East, I cannot help but think that democracy is on the march.

Lebanon's Shiite population wants more representation. Palestinian's are no longer content to just be killed; they elected a Hamas government. Shiites and Kurds in Iraq were the dominant group, and they elected a government that is more representative. The House of Saud is terrified they will be overthrown. Because suppression has existed so long in the Middle East, it does not surprise me that the power groups are attempting to maintain the status quo. The people of Iran want freedom too and there is a growing movement that ignores what the Mullah’s say and do. Iranians do appear to be the most patient.

Pity that the west is so dependent on oil that the transfer of powers toward Middle East democracy upsets world economic apple carts, but the French Revolution was not a pretty sight. The Middle East is just much slower than other parts of the world to seek justice.

Why don't Western populations have more sympathy for their plight? South America, and Mexico and struggling too and we often turn our backs on the needs of the people in favour of rich corporations and established authority.

Unrest and violence in the Middle East is justifiable. How to mitigate the violence should be the goal of westerner nations. Why is it not?

[Sgt.York]

RE: iraqthemodel

You must be joking. This guy is obviously getting a DOD check to write this garbage from the Zone. Nice to see he finally took down Bremmer's blue-striped New-Iraq flag from his website.

[Babak Makkinejad]

canuck:

Western nations shold avoid interfering in ME.

By the way, the Communist Government of Afghanistan was better for the Afghan people - but no - US and others had to go there and help the derelicts wreck that country.