Article

2008-02-02 Iraq

Lynch: US 'surge' tipped scales in Iraq (lots of good strategic PR stuff, too!)

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Posted by gorb 2008-02-02 06:59|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top
File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1 The biggest success and failure of Iraq should be long remembered.

That is, the biggest success was with our military showing the Iraqi military the right way of doing things. The willingness to say "You are doing it wrong. Now do it right." The same with rewriting their economy under J. Paul Bremer.

This contrasts with our biggest failure: allowing the political side of Iraq to do things *their* way. Their way was wrong and remains wrong, and if they fail, it will be precisely because we didn't make them do it the right way.

To start with, we should have changed their legal system, from the French-based Civil Code, which has failed even in France; to the Common Law based system used in the US, and what used to be the law in England.

Second was that *we* should have written their constitution, and made them live under it as long as we stayed in country. As we did with the Japanese, who after a few years, adapted very well to MacArthur's hand crafted gift, and left it almost untouched to the modern day.

We could have done this by sitting down with the major players and reaching a fair middle ground that all would tolerate, if not like because it didn't give them an unfair advantage. All their major issues would have been settled right from the start, instead of argued ad infinitum.

Had we done so, oil money would now be flowing over the countryside, instead of snarled up in red tape and squabbles in Baghdad. Their court system would have promptly tried and executed villains, and Sunni, Shiite and Kurd would be blending together instead of segregating.

Granted, there would still have been a lot of problems. But they would be quickly solved, not just endlessly argued.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-02-02 09:13|| 2008-02-02 09:13|| Front Page Top

#2 LOL and a pony.

Posted by Chang Smith8113 2008-02-02 17:56|| 2008-02-02 17:56|| Front Page Top

#3 Biggest fuckup is organizing elections based on party slate, not individual districts. So instead of having several hundred little Saddams, each with a power base but no chance of taking over, we have a few party caliphs who control who gets legislative and cabinet seats and control large amounts of money. Each of whom thinks they have a good chance of engineering a coup. I give it 5 years after US troops leave before a dictatorship is takes over.

Iraq will fall t

Posted by ed 2008-02-02 17:58|| 2008-02-02 17:58|| Front Page Top

#4 Ed, ever hear abown sows ears & silk purses? No amount of social engineering can work in MME.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2008-02-02 18:08|| 2008-02-02 18:08|| Front Page Top

#5 The lists can be undercut, if any party has the cahones. Designate ridings of any workable size and shape, find/select good local candidates, and commit to voters that your list will seat those who obtain the best results. E.g.: if your total vote qualifies your list for 50 seats, you seat the 50 candidates on your list with the highest % of local support.

This gives local voters incentives to vote both based on a guarantee of known local representation and the desire to move their guy as far up your list as possible, plus make the seating call reach as deep as possible.

Any party could do this; I've suggested it to the Fadhils' IPDP.

Posted by Brian H">Brian H 2008-02-02 20:08|| 2008-02-02 20:08|| Front Page Top

#6 Brilliant, Brian H. I'm sure we'll see changes as the Iraqis mature politically.

Posted by trailing wife 2008-02-02 21:02|| 2008-02-02 21:02|| Front Page Top

23:39 trailing wife
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