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...With media coverage of Iraq focused almost exclusively on car bombs and suicide attacks, it would be hard to attract international attention to other realities there. Yet without attention to economic reconstruction and political institution-building, the current almost daily fare of car bombs and suicide attacks is likely to continue for many more months, if not years. There will be no security for as long as there is no political and economic turnaround in Iraq. Much has already happened on the political front, notably last January's landmark general elections. But a culture of despotism with centuries-deep roots cannot be transformed...

Talk to anyone interested in the future of Iraq these days and you are likely to hear a note of frustration. "What are they doing in Baghdad?" asks a senior British official, expressing London's feelings about the long delay in the formation of the new Iraqi government which has just been unveiled. It took almost three months, from the day Iraqis turned out in record numbers to vote in their first free elections, for Prime Minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari to submit his ministerial list to the three-man presidential council for approval before presenting it to the National Assembly. There is concern...

...Despite the amazing progress in Iraq in two short years, some armchair experts carp that we should have moved even faster. Frankly, it's hard to understand what they are thinking.... From the outset, the Coalition recognized that democracy requires more than just elections. We judged that we had a special obligation to help Iraqis design a political and legal structure to guide Iraq's journey from tyranny to democracy. The result, after three months of intense negotiations and compromise, was the interim constitution. This revolutionary document addresses three crucial areas. First, the Coalition insisted that checks and balances guard against the...

Scenes of bloody struggle in Iraq have dominated headlines in the two years since Saddam Hussein was overthrown. The steps taken at the same time to lay the foundation of the new Iraqi state, and its economy, have generally attracted less attention. But it is likely that their effects will be felt for many years to come, whether or not the violence continues. Most of Iraq's legal apparatus was dismantled in the aftermath of the invasion that began in March 2003, and replaced by new decrees enacted by the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Many of these new laws were...

http://netwmd.com/articles/article849.html Baghdad, Iraq — Half past ten in the morning on Monday, January 3, an Iraqi National Guard unit, escorted by a dozen uniformed U.S. military, pulled up to Abdul Karim Muhammadawi's headquarters in the Hay al-Jamiah section of Baghdad. Muhammadawi, known to the Iraqis as Abu Hatem, is renowned among Iraqi Shia as "the Robin Hood of the marshes." Hailing from al-Amarah, during Saddam's rule, he led a persistent Shia resistance which harried local Baathist commanders and protected political opposition. A member of the now-defunct governing council, he has since joined the Iraqi National Alliance (al-Ittilaf al-Watani al-Iraqi), the...

In the present government there are 10 Sunni Arabs, 14 Shi'ite Arabs, and 8 Kurds, plus 1 Turkoman and 1 Christian. The Kurds are all Sunnis, as is the Turkoman, making 19 Sunnis and 14 Shi'ites, which is very generous toward the Sunnis. Historically, Iraq has been ruled by Sunni Arabs who represent a minority of some 15-18 percent in a state where 55 percent are Shi'ites and 18 percent are Kurds. As a result of the last war, all of a sudden Iraq is to be ruled by the majority and the Sunni Arabs feel they are being disinherited....

BAGHDAD — A purported new message from Osama bin Laden yesterday condemned all Iraqis who cast ballots in upcoming elections as "infidels," and it endorsed Abu Musab Zarqawi, the terrorist leader who is attempting to halt the Jan. 30 vote.     Hours before portions of the audiotape aired on the Arabic television channel Al Jazeera, suicide terrorists bombed the Baghdad home of a top Shi'ite political leader, and Iraq's main Sunni political group said it would boycott the elections. [snip] On Iraq's upcoming elections, it said:     "The constitution imposed by the American occupier Bremer is blasphemous ... and anyone who takes...

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT: GWB awarded the nation's highest civilian honor -- the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- Ambassador L. Paul "Jerry" Bremer, former CIA Director George Tenet, and retired U.S. Army General Tommy Franks. QUOTE OF THE DAY: General Tommy Franks was raised in Midland, Texas -- nothing wrong with that. (Laughter.) I didn't know him then, but Laura and he went to the same high school. In those days, some people in Midland wondered about Tommy's future. It sounds familiar. (Laughter.) At a recent high school reunion, Tommy's old principal told the General, "You weren't the brightest bulb in the...

Bush has chosen retired Gen. Tommy Franks, who oversaw combat in Afghanistan and the initial invasion of Iraq, former CIA Director George Tenet and former Iraq administrator L. Paul Bremer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The president will hand out the awards at a White House ceremony Dec. 14, press secretary Scott McClellan said.

Thanksgiving marks the season when hearts begin turning towards home, and this year again finds many of our young men and women in a war they did not choose, but one they are bravely waging. Some have given their lives to protect not only you and me and our children from enemies who hate us, but to liberate a people who are oppressed by these same enemies. None of us should ever take any of this for granted. It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since President Bush made his surprise visit to our troops in Baghdad last...

...Last week in London, President Jacques Chirac admitted that getting rid of Saddam "may well have been good idea" — then added a big "but" about the wisdom of early elections in Iraq. His argument for delay was based on the claim that he wanted "broader participation" in the elections.... The camp of Saddam nostalgics, including Chirac and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, have... portrayed the hostage-takers and head-choppers who terrorize parts of Iraq as "la resistance" and insisted that they should have a place in shaping the future of the country.... With Bush re-elected, chances of sabotaging Iraq's elections vanished....

Tune into FNC now. Bremer makes a first time appearance since his return to the states especially to address the missing explosives in Iraq.

According to a stunning report posted by a retired Navy Lt Commander and 28-year veteran of the Defense Department (DoD), the Bush administration’s assurance about finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was based on a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) plan to “plant” WMDs inside the country. Nelda Rogers, the Pentagon whistleblower, claims the plan failed when the secret mission was mistakenly taken out by “friendly fire”, the Environmentalists Against War report. Nelda Rogers is a 28-year veteran debriefer for the DoD. She has become so concerned for her safety that she decided to tell the story about this latest...

n recent days, attention has been focused on some remarks I've made about Iraq. The coverage of these remarks has elicited far more heat than light, so I believe it's important to put my remarks in the correct context. In my speeches, I have said that the United States paid a price for not stopping the looting in Iraq in the immediate aftermath of major combat operations and that we did not have enough troops on the ground to accomplish that task. The press and critics of the war have seized on these remarks in an effort to undermine...

In recent days, attention has been focused on some remarks I've made about Iraq. The coverage of these remarks has elicited far more heat than light, so I believe it's important to put my remarks in the correct context. In my speeches, I have said that the United States paid a price for not stopping the looting in Iraq in the immediate aftermath of major combat operations and that we did not have enough troops on the ground to accomplish that task. The press and critics of the war have seized on these remarks in an effort to undermine President...

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR In recent days, attention has been focused on some remarks I've made about Iraq. The coverage of these remarks has elicited far more heat than light, so I believe it's important to put my remarks in the correct context. In my speeches, I have said that the United States paid a price for not stopping the looting in Iraq in the immediate aftermath of major combat operations and that we did not have enough troops on the ground to accomplish that task. The press and critics of the war have seized on these remarks in an effort to...

Paul Bremer has made clear that his statement of not enough troops to quell looting in Baghdad applied to May immediately after Baghdad fell. We should know who is responsible for this terrible state of affairs...

Former viceroy L. Paul Bremer did 14 months of hard service in Iraq, so it is a special shame to see that he is now squandering that legacy by blaming others for what's gone wrong there.... Mr. Bremer revised his remarks: "I believe that we currently have sufficient troop levels in Iraq." ...Trouble is, we haven't found a single other senior official involved in the war or its aftermath -- in or out of uniform -- who attests to Mr. Bremer's version of events. "I never heard him ask for more troops and he had many opportunities before the President...

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The former U.S. ambassador to Iraq (news - web sites) on Tuesday defended U.S. actions there — a day after faulting troop strength following the ouster of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). L. Paul Bremer, appointed by President Bush (news - web sites) as head of the Iraq occupation, said Monday that U.S. forces failed to stop widespread looting after toppling Hussein, and "paid a big price for not stopping it because it established an atmosphere of lawlessness." During a speech Tuesday at Michigan State University, he said his remarks had been somewhat distorted by...

TIPTON, Iowa (Reuters) - Democratic White House challenger John Kerry accused President Bush of mismanaging the war in Iraq after a former top aide said the U.S. paid the price for not deploying enough troops after last year's invasion. Paul Bremer, the former administrator for Iraq, said in a speech this week that the U.S. intervention in Iraq was hampered early on by a lack of adequate forces and efforts to contain looting after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. "We paid a big price for not stopping it because it established an atmosphere of lawlessness," Bremer said. "We never had...