http://larvatusprodeo.net/2007/01/15/strange-alignments/

First among the American concerns is a Shiite-led government that has been so dogmatic in its attitude that the Americans worry that they will be frustrated in their aim of cracking down equally on Shiite and Sunni extremists, a strategy President Bush has declared central to the plan.

“We are implementing a strategy to embolden a government that is actually part of the problem,â€? said an American military official in Baghdad involved in talks over the plan. “We are being played like a pawn.â€?

The American military’s misgivings came as new details emerged of the reconstruction portion of Mr. Bush’s plan, which calls for more than doubling the number of American-led reconstruction teams in Iraq to 22 and quintupling the number of American civilian reconstruction specialists to 500. [Page A7.]

Compounding American doubts about the government’s willingness to go after Shiite extremists has been a behind-the-scenes struggle over the appointment of the Iraqi officer to fill the key post of operational commander for the Baghdad operation. In face of strong American skepticism, the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, has selected an officer from the Shiite heartland of southern Iraq who was virtually unknown to the Americans, and whose hard-edged demands for Iraqi primacy in the effort has deepened American anxieties.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/world/middleeast/15baghdad.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

PatrickM you’ve got ‘em on the run. You are being subject to standard union meeting tactics for handling someone who looks like outdebating the union leadership on an issue.

er.. you called George Bush “progressiveâ€?. The thought police in here will never stand for someone being termed so unless they are a mouthpiece for the hard left.

Steve: Heh.

Mate, this bloke IS you bog standard Maoist HL total FW thought cop. Strewth. Next thing he’ll have you believing that Pol Pot was Jesus Christ.

Ironic that Nelson Mandela and the ANC led the way and yet the Left still treats the Iraqi elections with such disdain?

Did you read my earlier comment about a recent survey of public opinion, Barbara?

http://larvatusprodeo.net/2007/01/04/scourging-the-surge/#comment-311740

3% of Iraqis regard the Maliki government as having performed well. 3%.

And legitimate questions could be raised about the commitment to democracy of some in the AMC, including President Mbeki, if we’re honest about it. But the salient difference is that the AMC came to power in a vote that reflected years of negotiation and accommodation and was accompanied by a genuine process of national reconciliation, not the farce that has been visited upon Iraqis. The Soviet Union used to have a constitution – written by Stalin – that allegedly gave citizens more freedoms than in the US. The letter of these documents is nothing if not accompanied by the spirit. The fact that the electoral system was copied from South Africa doesn’t make the result anything approaching democracy – because the Sunni and Shia militias want to wipe each other out. Baghdad is undergoing violent ethnic cleansing – that’s the premise of the new surge strategy. Even the Bushies admit that.

As to Tawney, the fact that he wrote in the 20s means that he didn’t have the benefit of subsequent scholarship. The debate over the historical origins of capitalism is a complex one, but I honestly don’t think it’s got much relevance to this thread.

er.. you called George Bush “progressive”. The thought police in here will never stand for someone being termed so unless they are a mouthpiece for the hard left.

Significantly the Afrikaaner whites ruled/tyrannised the blacks from similar 15 to 20% minority position. This was why the Shiites and Kurds insisted on an SA style constitution that would ensure no minority could ever assume absolute power again and no majority could take absolute power over minorities unless it gained more than 66% of the vote.

In esssence, the Kurds and the Shiites ensured that coalition power sharing would be the norm not the rule in future.

Ironic that Nelson Mandela and the ANC led the way and yet the Left still treats the Iraqi elections with such disdain?

Beyond the fact that it gives you a good opportunity to be patronising and self-righeous, what is your interest in this discussion?