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| Two More Americans Killed in Iraq |
| 2004-02-19 |
| Insurgents killed two American soldiers Thursday in a roadside bombing west of Baghdad as the United States was reportedly ready to make major changes in its blueprint for handing over power to a new Iraqi government. The bombing occurred near Khaldiyah, 50 miles west of the capital, according to the U.S. command. Two soldiers from Task Force All-American were killed, along with at least one Iraqi, the command said. One U.S. soldier was wounded. Insurgents also fired a rocket-propelled grenade Thursday at an American convoy in Khaldiyah but the projectile missed, witnesses said. Those deaths brought to 545 the number of American service members who have died since President Bush (news - web sites) launched the Iraq (news - web sites) war on March 20. Most of the deaths have occurred after Bush declared an end to active combat May 1. With casualties mounting in an election year, the Bush administration would like to transfer political power to the Iraqis by the end of June and shift more security responsibility to the U.S.-trained Iraqi force. Bush wants to end the occupation well ahead of the November presidential election in the United States to minimize Iraq as a campaign issue. However, the formula for establishing a new government remains in dispute. U.S. and Iraqi officials were awaiting an announcement later Thursday by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) on the feasibility of holding legislative elections here before June 30, as demanded by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani and others in the influential Shiite clergy. The Bush administration hopes Annan will say that elections are impossible by June 30 and endorse the idea of extending and expanding the U.S.-picked Iraqi Governing Council so it can take interim control of the country on July 1. In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri, Annan said elections were essential in Iraq but they could probably not be held before the transfer of power. "There seems to be a consensus emerging that elections are essential and everyone would want elections. But at the same time, there seems to be a general acceptance of the fact that it is not going to be possible to arrange an election between now and the end of June," Annan said in the interview published Thursday. Rather than hold elections, the United States proposed choosing members of a new legislature by regional caucuses. The lawmakers would then select a government to take power by July 1. However, the caucus idea has little support among Iraqis, who fear the Americans could manipulate the process to ensure their favorites were chosen. With Washington standing firm on the date for transferring power and dwindling support for the caucuses, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday in Washington that the Bush administration was considering a plan to extend and expand the U.S.-appointed Governing Council so it can take temporary control of the country on July 1. The council would then rule the country until a legislature could be elected, the U.S. official said on condition of anonymity. On Thursday, Ahmad al-Barak, a Shiite council member and coordinator of the Iraqi Bar Association, said after meeting with al-Sistani in Najaf that the Shiites were hoping for an early election but would be willing to wait a few more months if Annan recommends against a vote before June 30. "I think that elections can be held after five months from now and in that case we have no problem," al-Barak told reporters. "Power could be transferred to the Iraqi people through the Governing Council or any other body which will take the responsibility to make the right preparations for the elections." Other Shiites have said that any expansion of the Governing Council must respect the current alignment of power. The Shiites, believed to make up about 60 percent of Iraq’s 25 million people, hold 13 of the 25 council seats. In Baghdad, a Sunni council member, Samir Shaker Mahmoud, said he also believed the plan to expand and extend the Governing Council was a possible solution. "I think this option is available and I know several members of the Governing Council who think this is feasible, it’s possible," he said. "But of course all members of the council believe that elections, credible elections, must be conducted as soon as possible." |
| Posted by:Jarhead |
| #4 I think that constitution should begin by words like "We, the people of the Iraki states in order to bring a most perfect union" |
| Posted by: JFM 2004-2-19 1:49:41 PM |
| #3 I actually agree with Aris (hey, careful with that feather!). I'd prefer that we write the new Iraqi constitution and hand it to them, much as we did for Japan. We smile and say "here it is, and you're gonna live by it or else". We put in all the necessary items: respect for religious freedom, womens' rights, protections for individual liberties, etc. And once that's done we can help them with an election. Constitution first, elections second. Simple. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-2-19 1:30:01 PM |
| #2 Easier to corrupt also. Instead of Iraqis voting directly who will represent them, they'll need to vote on people who'll then vote themselves on their leaders. So, rather than the head candidates needing to sway the entirety of their nation, they'll only needs to sway/bribe/threaten with boomings a much narrower selection of people. Ah, well... Somehow I feel that the US is trying to find complicated counter-productive answers that feel undemocratic, when a few simpler guidelines to the point of "absolute separation of church and state" would have been much more efficient in practice and their motivations easier understood -- and supported. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2004-2-19 11:30:08 AM |
| #1 The obvious: Yes, let's hold elections sometime. But, until then the Governing Council should continue to govern. We should add a few more The caucus idea has little support among Iraqis who are currently prospering from graft and corruption, and little support from Iraqis who stand to gain control in a straight democratic vote by being in the majority. On the other hand, caucuses (democracy from the ground up) probably have a lot of support among the ordinary Iraqis who would actually have a say in their government for a change. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-2-19 10:01:51 AM |