Iraq Corruption By "Western Standards"

Oh, this is rich.... "Premier of Iraq Is Quietly Firing Fraud Monitors" (NYTlimes)

"BAGHDAD — The government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is systematically dismissing Iraqi oversight officials, who were installed to fight corruption in Iraqi ministries by order of the American occupation administration, which had hoped to bring Western standards of accountability to the notoriously opaque and graft-ridden bureaucracy here."

Western standards! Western standards! You mean like Wall Street robber barons who Ponzi-schemed trash loans, driving the world into a financial abyss? You mean like lobby-ridden D.C. with legislators on the take and worse.... like Alaska's Senator Ted Stevens convicted of 7 counts of fraud but still in office (for now). Those Western standards?

The Iraq crimes.... "One Iraqi former chief investigator recently testified before Congress that $13 billion in reconstruction funds from the United States had been lost to fraud, embezzlement, theft and waste by Iraqi government officials."

This sounds like business as usual, Western standards.

After all, we gave our Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson $700 billion plus dollars to "rescue" our economy. It's estimated he has probably spent half of if, or about $350 billion. Why "estimated?" Because Paulson won't tell anyone how the money was allocated! Even Congress! Western standards.

"...Stuart W. Bowen Jr., who leads an independent oversight office in Washington, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, and who is currently working in Iraq, said he knew of six of the dismissals. He said the inspectors general were vulnerable because once their offices were created, the United States provided little support and training for what was a startling concept for the bureaucracy, which was shaped by the secrecy and corruption of the Saddam Hussein era."

Look, why is anyone surprised that the Bush administration provided little support and training, they can't govern here. After legislating strict oversight for the $700+ billion bailout, that oversight was never made operational.

Secrecy?... you mean like the way Undisclosed Location Cheney and Executive Privilege Bush operate?

Really, what can we expect unless we set the example? Let's just quit throwing good money after bad in Iraq.... let's no longer "occupy" ourselves with their corruption of our billions and concentrate on cleaning up our own act.

No more U.S.-made Baghdad billionaires! Bring our troops home.

Bush's Foreign "Friends"

So grandiose is The Decider's opinion of himself, and his influence on other world leaders, that he has based much of our foreign policy on his so-called personal relationships with those leaders, leaving the good of the people of those nations, and ours, to choke on the effluvia of his egomaniacal "spreading of Democracy" rhetoric.

The Decider's "good friends" like.... Mexico's former president Vincente Fox who described The Decider as the cockiest man he ever met and speaks Spanish like a fourth grader; Russia's president Vladimir Putin who is grabbing Soviet-style power while Bush is gazing into Putin's soul; and Iraq's prime minister Nouri al-Maliki who is firmly lodged in Iran's back pocket while pimping American lives and treasure.

Or, nuclear-armed Pakistan's president Gen. Peverez Musharraf who is ignoring the admonishments of the White House to stop his martial-law-enforced grip on power. These leaders are at the ready for Bush photo-ops, but their actions scream their disdain.

Bush gets no respect, because he's earned no respect.

The dangerous oligarchs lying in wait just beneath the surface of nations.... usually restrained by a commanding president of a strong U.S.... have taken arrogant Bush's measure and judged that as long as they give lip service to The Decider's neoconist worldview crusades they can unleash their dictatorial ambitions without retribution.

The perfect example is Pakistan. Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999 with promises of a civilian government. Because The Decider wanted Musharraf's support for his "war on terror," he looked the other way... and slipped Musharraf a mostly unaccounted for nearly $11 billion. Musharraf tested him by repeatedly breaking promises to move toward democracy, forcing his rivals into exile, being vindictive, and intimidating anyone who tried to stand up to him.

Now Bush's dependence on his perceived "relationship" with this man has blown up in his face.... Musharraf has suspended the constitution, is rounding up judges, beating and jailing lawyers and journalists, arresting members of his opposition, and has silenced the media.

Moves that will embolden extremists in The Decider's war on terror like Al Qaeda and the Taliban who are resurgent on Musharraf's northern borders, while fueling anger and mistrust among Pakistani moderates.

Musharraf said his actions were necessary to preserve Pakistan, and compared himself to Abraham Lincoln during our civil war. Please.

The truth of the matter is that after "winning a sham ballot last month, General Musharraf was awaiting a Supreme Court decision on whether his election, while still serving as army chief of staff, was legal.... he asserted military powers after getting word that the court would rule against him." (New York Times)

It's plain....Musharraf is preserving his power.... although he did throw the bone of a "promised" election in January. Will there be another "emergency" to stay that election? Elections held by a tyrannical government have but one outcome.... either no election, or the "election" of the tyrant.

Just as we have watched world leaders gutting their sham democracies while seizing unlimited state powers, we have also watched The Decider, by virtue of presidential directives and an acquiescent attorney general and lawmakers, vastly expanding the powers of his office.

Is Pakistan's perilous state just a chilling preview of November 2009?

The answer may lie in whether or not The Decider takes strong measures to restrain Musharraf by plugging his U.S. piggy bank, protecting the popular former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and insisting on open elections.... a real foreign policy effort, not a nod-and-a-wink accommodation for his "friend."

Could it be that the most dangerous leader is the one elected to office for the national common good, who instead uses it to undermine individual rights while pursuing his ego-directed globalist ideology.

Another Turn of the Iraq Hour Glass

Now we know, the long awaited word from General Petraeus.... we need more time in Iraq. Gee... who would have thought?

Eugene Robinson in his editorial today, " 'Six Months' Without End" sums up the Bush administration's morass of a "stay the course" policy that is the occupation of Iraq...."The next six months in Iraq are crucial - and always will be. That noise you heard yesterday on Capitol Hill was the can being kicked further down the road leading to January 2009, when George W. Bush gets to hand off his Iraq fiasco to somebody else."

Oh yes, and the big drawdown the General is promising. Well, the White House raised the numbers (surge) before they reduce the numbers..... back to where they were. The grand hokey-pokey as Iraq's prime minister al-Maliki's so-called central government deteriorates and he creeps steadily toward Iran's waiting arms.... his "other friends."

And, that is the White House Iraq strategy in a nutshell. Stall, skew the numbers, and then shuffle off to Buffalo... or in this case,Texas.

Ware's Straight Talk

When you see his boxer's nose and direct no-nonsense stare at the camera, you stop to listen to his Australian "mate"-accented rapid-fire delivery as he reports his blunt assessments.... because you know you're going to hear from CNN correspondent Michael Ware the real facts on the ground from the only correspondent who has been in Baghdad since before the the U.S. invasion.

He knows the score, and seldom agrees with the White House version of events.

On the civil war in Iraq.
When the Bush administration bristled at the Iraq war being called a civil war, Ware pounced... "....it's easier to deny that this is a civil war, when essentially you live in the most heavily fortified place in the country within the Green Zone, which is true of both the prime minister, the national security adviser for Iraq and, of course, the top U.S. military commanders.

"However, for the people living on the streets, for Iraqis in their homes, if this is not civil war, or a form of it, then they do not want to see what one really looks like."

On Sen. John McCain's statement that Americans could "go into some Baghdad neighborhoods in a secure fashion."
Upon hearing McCain's boast, Ware lamented on the loss of McCain's credibility and challenged.... "To suggest that there's any neighborhood in this city where an American can walk freely is beyond ludicrous. I'd love Senator McCain to tell me where that neighborhood is and he and I can go for a stroll."

On the effectiveness of the U.S. troop "surge."
When asked if the Bush administration claim that the escalation of troops had an impact on sectarian violence in Iraq, Ware scoffed.... "No, not really. It's forced [al-Qaeda] to displace.... So deaths are down because it's much harder to kill each other until the Americans withdraw and the real battle begins."

And, yesterday when CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked him about the "big picture" regarding the disintegrating government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Ware put the rose-colored-glasses claims of the Bush administration in their proper perspective:

"Well, Wolf, I mean, really, there's never been an Iraqi government. I mean, it's never been a so-called entity. It's been an apparition from the beginning, a loose coalition of militias, most of them according to western intelligence, backed by Iran, jammed together. So really, there's never been a functioning government there."

And, Ware's gritty assessment of the consequences of the action that Sen. Warner (R-VA) and others are suggesting, to start a drawdown of American troops (you're not going to want to hear this):

"I'm sorry, but with all respect to Senator Warner, he is absolutely kidding himself. If... withdrawing 5,000 troops is going to send any kind of a message.... the strongest message that would send is an American defeat.

"And if you want a clear-cut example of both the power of that message, and what happens on the ground, just look at Basra in the south. The Brits have all but been forced to abandon Basra. What's happened? Rival sparring, brawling, Iranian-backed militias have taken over and it's turning into an absolute disaster. That's a glimmer of Iraq's future without American forces."

The only response one can make to this jarring no-win reality-check is the one given by Blitzer, "Pretty depressing information."

Iraq Government on the Verge....

CBS News exclusively reported yesterday that the Iraq government is now in crisis.

Senior Iraqi leaders are demanding a drastic change. On July 15 they plan to ask for a no-confidence vote in the Iraqi parliament.... with the end game being to bring down the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The largest block of Sunni politicians.... part of a broad political alliance called the Iraq Project.... want a new government run by "ministers who are appointed for their expertise, not their party loyalty."

Wow! Can we get these guys to D.C.?

"Closed Door" Cheney discussed this Iraq Project with Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi on his most recent visit to Baghdad. Hashimi made it clear that cosmetic changes only aren't acceptable, "what we need is much bigger than that," he warned.

So.... since the White House knows about the impending instability in the central government, what has been their response?

"Administration Shaving Yardstick for Iraq Gains.... Goals Unmet; Smaller Strides to Be Promoted." (WaPo)

That's right, they are lowering the bar. The White House when selling the surge (did you know it's called the Phantom Thunder offensive?) assured that it would allow the government of Maliki to "take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November."

However, their interim July report that was demanded by Congress will "boast" that Iraqi political leaders managed last month to agree on a unified response to the bombing of a major religious shrine.

And just how many lives of our troops was that worth?

It's probably hard to put out a report on Maliki's progress when the administration knows full well that he's likely to be given the unceremonious boot.

The fine hand of the Saudi royals can be seen in this overthrow move. They are uneasy with an increasingly powerful Shiite Iran and the dangerous ineffectiveness of Maliki's Shiite-dominated government. The Saudis may be the real "Phantom" behind a move to oust Maliki.

But we're left in the dark to only speculate. As one top administration official reflected privately.... "The heart of darkness is the president.... Nobody knows what he thinks, even the people who work for him."

That's because Bush is waiting for the soul of darkness Cheney to whisper in his ear. And, his whispers have the force of "Thunder" in the empty head of shallow boy George.