Given the post-election deadlock in Iraq, could the United States be considering postponing democracy and planning a bloodless military coup? Columnist Haitham Al-Taib of Iraq’s Kitabat newspaper warns Iraq’s political class that with American patience wearing thin, the time for negotiating over a new government is running out.
For Kitabat, columnist Haitham Al-Taib wrtes in part:
It seems that Americans have concluded that in a country like Iraq, there’s little hope that a few short years is enough to implement the democratic project. Meanwhile, surrounding countries and others in the Arab and Islamic world appear to expect a coup d’état.
After having watched the outcome of the March 2010 elections, the struggle of the parties for power and the way no one won an absolute majority, perhaps the Americans have begun to question the basis of the political equation and think it wiser to postpone plans for democracy. Another solution would be to hand over authority to the military. … American military leaders find appeal in the idea of having a general carry out a bloodless coup d’état like those that have occurred in Pakistan, with the promise of peaceful elections and a return to democracy sometime down the road. … the Americans assume that a general who executes the military coup d’état will be extremely obedient and execute the decisions of the American administration
The situation is increasingly dangerous. Iraqi politicians, who are pitting their own selfish interests against the political process, must take responsibility. Despite the fact that everything I’ve discussed are assumptions and speculation, this scenario must be taken into account. Knowing what happens in the halls of power, it’s hard to be optimist about current events. Unless we change the people involved and the way they operate, there is little hope that things can be resolved through the current negotiations. Ladies and gentlemen, the solution is here in Iraq – not in neighboring countries.
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