More US Heavy-handedness

Many of the reports coming out today are about continuing heavy-handedness of US actions with the IGC and the resulting lack of credibility it will have with the Iraqi people.

Many Iraqis are beginning to look at the new council the same way as the old council – as a tool of the US – and the reason for this, says the Times is “the unexpected assertiveness of American officials and their allies on the Iraqi Governing Council, coupled with Mr. Brahimi's surprising passivity, after he was expected to have a free hand.”

“The danger, some of these Iraqis say, is that the new government could end up looking too much like the old one, an American-appointed council that never gained the acceptance of the people. If that proves true once the appointees are officially announced, they said, the new government could lack the credibility it needs to carry the country through the turbulent period leading to nationwide elections next year. Already, a three-day cease-fire appeared to be unraveling in the south.”

Ayad Alawi, is still perceived as a man from that council who is best known for his connections to the Central Intelligence Agency. “One person with knowledge of the negotiations said Mr. Brahimi had been pushed by the Americans into accepting Dr. Alawi, who was not his first choice.”

"The Americans are trying to impose these decisions on us, and we are trying to reject them," said Mahmood Othman, a council member who has been critical of both Mr. Bremer and Mr. Brahimi. "And they talk about sovereignty."

“One person conversant with the negotiations said Mr. Brahimi was presented with "a fait accompli" after President Bush's envoy to Iraq, Robert D. Blackwill, "railroaded" the Governing Council into coalescing around him.”

So as this report suggests, “After the decision, Mr. Brahimi declined to comment in detail about the selection, but suggested, for the first time, that his role here was far more limited than originally thought.”

And if that wasn’t bad enough, “Opinion polls of Iraqis show that the council has been viewed as little more than a mouthpiece for the United States.”

According to the Iraqis, Mr. Bremer told the Governing Council it had to get behind Mr. Pachachi and it “was that kind of heavy-handedness, some Iraqis say, that was supposed to be missing from the new government — and which many had expected Mr. Brahimi to cure.”

"It doesn't fit what Bush says," said Mr. Othman, the council member. "He said Iraqis are free."

So, in a word, this administration can’t stop being a bully and the end result of this behavior will be the total loss of credibility for the new “council” which is supposed to have “full sovereignty.”

The gang who can’t shoot straight continues to misfire.