Iraq Shuts Office of Protest Organizers - NY Times

 
"... growing concerns that Mr. Maliki’s American-backed government is using force and other measures to stifle dissent in this fragile democracy, where tens of thousands of demonstrators have seized on the upheaval sweeping the Arab world to rally for government reforms and better services.

Officials for the Iraqi Nation Party and the Iraqi Communist Party said in interviews that dozens of armed security forces had come to their offices here Sunday, two days after another round of demonstrations."  Ny Times

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"The Iraqi Communist Party..."  Well, Maliki and Saddam had this in common.  The only place in Iraq for the "Shuyu'iyiin" is prison.  Ironically, the "Iraqi Nation Party" is much favored by the neocons.  pl

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/world/middleeast/08iraq.html

Comments

[Farmer Don]

The US troop withdrawal from Iraq has dropped off the media radar screen, so I googled a search to see how things were progressing, and found this article in Wikipedia under "Withdrawal of US troops from Iraq"

This is part of the article regarding the US's future in Iraq.

"Plans for the future
By October 2011, the US State Department (/wiki/US_State_Department) will assume responsibility for training the Iraqi police (/wiki/Iraqi_police) and this task that will largely be carried out by private contractors. American diplomats in two new $100 million outposts will prevent potential confrontations between the Iraqi Army (/wiki/Iraqi_Army) and Kurdish peshmerga (/wiki/Peshmerga) forces.
The US State Department is reportedly planning to more than double the number of its private security guards (/wiki/Private_military_company), up to as many as 7,000. Defending five fortified compounds across the country, the security contractors would operate radars to warn of enemy rocket attacks, search for roadside bombs, fly reconnaissance drones (/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle) and even staff quick reaction forces to aid civilians in distress. The State Department plans to acquire 60 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs (/wiki/MRAP_(armored_vehicle))) from the US military to expand its inventory of armored cars to 1,320 and to create a mini-air fleet by buying three planes to add to its lone aircraft. Its helicopter fleet, which will be piloted by contractors, will grow to 29 from 17.
The startup cost of building and sustaining two US embassy branch offices in Kirkuk (/wiki/Kirkuk) and Mosul (/wiki/Mosul), of setting up two consulates in Basra (/wiki/Basra) and Erbil (/wiki/Erbil) and of hiring security contractors and buying new equipment is about $1 billion. It will also cost about $500 million to make the two consulates permanent. The police training program will cost about $800 million."

Col, does this seem likely to work for any length of time to you?

DIPLOMATS in $100 MILLION OUTPOSTS will prevent confrontations between the Iraqi Army and Kurdish peshmerga forces! How????

Double the number of private security guards. Don't the Iraqis hate these people with a special passion?

Eight high tech forts containing US advisors sending out convoys of reconnaissance drones and armored convoys of mine resistant vehicles into the country? With the recent overthrow of several middle east dictators, how could a set up like this not be the target of country wide protests? What government would be seen as legitimate that allows this to happen on it's soil?