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Leading With The Left June 2, 2004 PERMALINK I had no role in picking, zero. Iraqis, U.S. Cut Deal on President… Bush's contention that he didn't handpick the latest interim Iraqi government was seemingly bolstered with the naming of Governing Council member Sheik Ghazi al-Yawar as President. The media, including foreign outlets such as The Guardian and Al-Jazeera, portrayed Yawar as independent and, at times, critical of the US. (Though Al Jazeera, in its mostly positive Yawar profile, still reported, "there are still Iraqis who regard him as a puppet of the US-led occupation authorities".) Furthermore, it was widely reported that Yawar was not America's first choice. A different Sunni, Adnan Pachachi, was. And the W. Post said that Pachachi was formally offered the position, but that he refused because he lacked support from the GC.That supposedly paved the way for Yawar, the GC's choice. But Reuters reported a slightly different version: After two days of bitter confrontation, the United States and U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi finally accepted Yawar in the largely ceremonial role of head of state after their preferred candidate, elder statesman Adnan Pachachi, turned down the job. But in return the…Governing Council agreed to dissolve itself with immediate effect and accepted a cabinet line-up…that featured many fewer of its own members than it had wanted… …In a face-saving maneuver, the…Governing Council initially dropped its objection to Pachachi. Then, within minutes, [Pachachi] renounced the post and Brahimi declared that Yawar would become head of state… …Officials then announced that the Council, whose members U.S. officials had accused of trying to cling to power by claiming positions in the new government, was being wound up. Several things, some conflicting, could be read into all that. But if nothing else, it indicates that we were integrally involved in the Yawar choice. Even if he was not the first choice, he was (at minimum) an acceptable choice. If Yawar wasn't someone the Bushies thought they could do business with, they would have never let his selection proceed. Or put him on the GC in the first place.In fact, the pro-war W. Post editorial page went as far as to say that Brahimi was directly undercut by the GC and the US working in tandem: In the end, hemmed in by hovering U.S. officials and their present and former Iraqi allies, Mr. Brahimi acquiesced to a cabinet led by the same former exiles and Kurdish politicians who populated the discredited Iraqi Governing Council. That would mean either US support of the rejected candidates for Prez (and Prime Minister) was just for show, and/or rifts in the Bush Administration confuse reporters trying to simplify and sum up the official US position. The point is that those that closely follow and report the news can get caught up in the who's up-who's down personality game, then forget that US policy remains the same regardless of how the chairs are shuffled. As said here two weeks ago after the Chalabi raid: …even if Chalabi is no longer Bush's chosen figurehead, it doesn't mean Bush doesn't have other figureheads in mind. Fact is, Bush had a whole GC of figureheads to choose from. May 31, 2004 PERMALINK It is being argued in some circles that Bush’s flip-flop on an Iraq strategy hurts Kerry by leaving him with an exit plan indistinguishable from Bush’s. In reality, Bush hasn’t changed his “Iraq for American corporate interests only” plan, just his rhetoric, and when you look at Kerry’s plan it is a real exit strategy, which calls for real internationalization. But as discussed in this space last week, any perceived similarities between the Bush and Kerry plans don’t matter because this is Bush’s war. His flip-flop shows that his people know he’s screwed the pooch and it is becoming more and more apparent that he hasn’t a clue as how to fix it. But even if, by the election, Bush could find a way to minimize US casualties and minimize the ominous news coming daily from Iraq, he’d still be in trouble. The Bush plan has failed the central justification for his Iraq excursion -- no, not a Wal-Mart in every holy site -- US security. No matter how quickly we exit from Iraq, it is now generally accepted that the invasion and occupation of Iraq has failed to make us safer from terrorists. In fact, when you consider its cost and what that means for domestic security, most people would agree Bush’s Iraq vacation has not only failed to make us safer -- it’s made us less safe. After 9/11, Bush had his first mandate, not just from the American people, but also from the world. Congress pledged its full support and practically gave him a blank check to go after Al Qaeda (which the Bushies secretly re-appropriated for their Iraqi endeavor) and secure our domestic vulnerabilities. Three years later, Bush has squandered billions of dollars, while leaving Al Qaeda at-large, a terrorist friendly vacuum in Afghanistan, domestic security and first responders unfunded, a civil rights-infringing Patriot Act that supposedly needs to be extended, and a new terrorist breeding ground in Iraq. If it is actually possible to wage a “War On Terra”, then Bush is “losing”. Kerry has recently begun to make this point and now he has to outline what a victory in this “war on terrorism” will look like. He should make it clear that we will know we are winning this war when our domestic security and first responders are not suffering for lack of funds, when our international partners are on board and watching our backs, when we no longer are forced to support regimes that foster American animosity and when the daily news does not bring us reports of new found hatred of America. |
The Sandbox Purple Hearts It is not well documented in the United States, however, I am writing now to reveal to my audience that Luboknovich, like John Kerry, has three purple hearts. You see, my hearts were not granted based on some wonderful military achievement, nor have they recently been questioned by any New England media source. On the contrary! The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine recently named me “Medical Oddity of the Year: 2003” (December 2003) and “An anomaly to watch” (March 2002). You see, my purple hearts are literal hearts! Yes, that’s correct. My body cannot operate on the one heart granted to most people. Instead, I need three. My condition is the result of a serious palimony mutation known as Pulmonary Equestrians Triadic Conglomerated Ovation (PETCO). I did not ask for these hearts, nor was I thrilled when I received them. You see, they are the result of extreme stress induced by divorce proceedings with my late wife Kirstie Alley. The more she irritated me, the purpler my heart grew. I soon grew two new hearts once my body determined that my original heart was not strong enough to sustain me. However, I experienced so much stress that each of the new hearts turned purple as well. Fortunately, my three defective hearts, when working together, are sturdy enough to keep me going. Born in 1957 in Byelorussia, Alexander Pierre Luboknovich, a Soviet in exile, is a political commentator, water comedian, diplomatic impersonator, and importer of international wives. He is currently at work on a book of essays entitled “Power to the Peephole: Lewd Propositions for a New Sexual Revolution” and is an associate fellow at the Ruzzzivixxxxxxen Importing Co., Brighton Beach, NY. He is one of the leading practitioners of the high Russian art of “water comedy” and a regular columnist for LiberalOasis. ************** REVIEWS "Among the best ways to [pay close attention to the grass roots] is logging onto Web sites like Liberal Oasis." "indispensable" "bloggeriffic" "something interesting" "quite well reasoned, almost scholarly" "one of the sharpest political minds around" "must-read liberal mega-site" "unsurpassed political commentary" "wonderful" "one of my many must-read-every-day sites" "it's what our site would be like [if we had] more time" "smart new weblog for us lefties" "always-excellent" "consistently interesting" "If you're one of the few who has not been to Liberal Oasis, get on over there for great blogging, sharp humor and activism" "It's like a freakin' candy store!" "Liberal Oasis is so good I ought to print it out and mail it to my Senators." "Excellent commentary" July 26, 2002 "Left-wing twits" "The parallel dimension in which supporters of Stalin, Hitler, Saddam Hussein and various and sundry other shitheels live." "Pathetic site" July 29, 2002 |
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