MP Calls for Talabani's Removal;
Veto of Provinces Law called Unconstitutional
Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that a controversy is raging in the Iraqi parliament about the veto exercised by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani against a bill passed last week enabling elections in the fall. MP and former court judge Wael Abd al-Latif of the State Party charged that the veto was "unconstitutional." He said that when a bill is vetoed, it has to go back to parliament for another vote, and needs a 3/5s majority to overturn the veto. Abd al-Latif also pointed to the constitution's requirement that the presidential council act through consensus. In this case, Talabani and Adel Abdul Mahdi vetoed the bill while their colleague, the other vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, was out of town! He should have been consulted about appointing a proxy to vote for him but was not.
A member of the Sunni fundamentalist Iraqi Accord Front, Khalaf al-Ulyan, called for Talabani to be removed from the presidency, on the grounds that his veto derived from ethnic solidarity rather than from a concern to act on behalf of the entire Iraqi nation. On Saturday, Talabani consulted with Massoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, on the crisis. The bill had contained a provision apportioning power in Kirkuk province equally among Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds, while Kurds claim to be the majority there.
Al -Zaman reports in Arabic that female member of parliament on the Sadrist list, Maha al-Duri, charged that the Kurdistan Alliance and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq have a secret alliance whereby they outmaneuver other parties in their quest to impose a very loose form of federalism on Iraq. The Sadrists want a strong central government and the end of US military surveillance in Iraq.
McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq on Saturday:
' Baghdad
- Around 8 am a roadside detonated in Jihad neighborhood (west Baghdad). One person was injured with some damage to his Shovel.
- Around 10 am a roadside bomb targeted an army patrol in Sleikh intersection(north Baghdad). Two soldiers were injured.
- Around 2 pm a roadside bomb targeted civilians in Kamb Sara in Adhamiyah neighborhood (north Baghdad). Six people were injured (including 1 policeman and two Sahwa members).
- Around 3 p.m. gunmen attacked and injured awakening council official in Daowdi neighborhood, west Baghdad.
- Around 4 p.m. a roadside bomb targeted awakening council member, a U.S. backed militia, in Sleikh neighborhood, injuring two militia members.
- Police found one dead body throughout Baghdad in Baladiyat neighborhood.
Kirkuk
- On Friday night a gunman with silencer opened fire on an American patrol in downtown Kirkuk. A 14 year-old kid was killed in that incident .
- In the morning gunmen opened fire on a combined patrol from Iraqi security forces and Americans. One Iraqi policeman was killed and another was injured.'
Labels: Iraq
posted by Juan Cole @ 7/27/2008 12:55:00 AM
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4 Comments:
The Kurdistan Alliance and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq had publicly declared a deal to vote collectively, years ago. They also had a deal signed before the invasion, under Khalilzad's orders, which was the corner-stone of the American policy in Iraq at the time.
Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council, has lost his authority over the UIA (Shi'a grand bloc) when most of the UIA MPs ignored his instructions to vote against the election bill. The secret voting was to protect those MPs. Now the secrecy cover is no longer needed when the bill goes back to Parliament. If the bill is approved by two thirds then the Presidency Council cannot veto it (it seems to me that the 90% vote for was sufficient in the first time.) But it can be vetoed if it passes by a simple majority, which will most likely be followed by throwing Talabani and his two VPs out very quickly by a vote of no confidence.
Obama interview:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatch...clatchy/ 3002009
Q: Afghanistan is something you've spoken a lot about...Take us to the next level, why, as you've said, and how, we need to put more U.S. forces into Afghanistan . To the Soviets it became a quagmire. How do you avoid that? How do you measure success? If you could give us a little more detail about what you think you'd like to do.
A: I'm not here to lay out a comprehensive military strategy. That's the job of our commanders on the ground. I can tell you what our strategic goals should be. They should be relatively modest. We shouldn't want to take over the country. We should want to get out of there as quickly as we can and help the Afghans govern themselves and provide for their own security. Our critical goal should be to make sure that the Taliban and al Qaida are routed and that they cannot project threats against us from that region. And to do that I think we need more troops. I also think that we need to deal with the situation in Pakistan and the fact that terrorists are able to operate with relative freedom of movement there right now.
Q: Do you have an idea of how long it might take?
A: A lot of it depends on not only our military actions but on our diplomatic initiatives with countries like Pakistan . And it also depends on how quickly we can get the Afghan government to cut down on corruption, take seriously the problem of the narcotics trade. So there are a lot of moving parts there. You don't know until you know.
All these negative details! I just read an AP story that says the US is winning. We've turned the corner! Iraqi families are picnicking in city parks just like they used to. When Saddam was in power. Before the US arrived. Things are calm now. Baghdad is a city transformed from a year ago. The AP is respectible and wouldn't publish something that wasn't true. The reporters certainly must have written this from Baghdad, and gone on picnics themselves, and walked around and talked to ordinary Iraqis. Right? http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_WINNING_THE_WAR?SITE=MABED&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Natives getting restless....What you mean "We" kimosabe?....
Ex-insurgents Want More Money, or Else
25 July 2008
The Iraqi officer leading a U.S.-financed anti-jihadist group is in no mood for small talk -- either the military gives him more money or he will pack his bags and rejoin the ranks of al-Qaeda.
"I'll go back to al-Qaeda if you stop backing the Sahwa (Awakening) groups," Col. Satar tells U.S. Lt. Matthew McKernon, as he tries to secure more funding for his men to help battle the anti-U.S. insurgents.
Most members of the Awakening groups are Sunni Arab former insurgents who themselves fought American troops under the al-Qaeda banner after the fall of the regime of executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Some, like Satar, had served in Saddam's army before joining Al-Qaeda. Others were members of criminal gangs before deciding to fight the insurgents, with the backing of the U.S. military.
They earn around 300 dollars a month and their presence at checkpoints and on patrol has become an essential component of the U.S.-led coalition's strategy to restore order in the war-wracked country.
Full piece Here.
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