LA Times:U.N. Envoy Says Iraq Is a 'Mess'

[cal04]

In an article published in a Dutch newspaper Saturday, U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said bluntly, "It is a mess in Iraq." Asked whether it was possible to hold elections under current conditions, Brahimi said, "If the circumstances stay as they are, I don't think so," according to a Reuters report on the article.


An election in which Sunnis were not well represented would probably fuel the insurgency and endanger the rights of minorities because there would be proportionately fewer voices from minority groups in the transitional assembly that would oversee the writing of a new constitution for the country.

Brahimi was careful to leave the door open to proceeding with the election and called on the international community and the Americans "to help clean up this mess. If you let it deteriorate, the situation will become even more dangerous." Robert Callahan, a spokesman in Baghdad for U.S. Ambassador John D. Negroponte, said Brahimi's comments "are not going to sway us."

But Callahan minimized differences with Brahimi, noting that U.S. officials would agree that three of the 18 provinces were troubled areas, "but we think we can improve the situation…. We have two months to improve the security situation." The reality on the ground, however, raises serious questions about the ability of the U.S. military to defeat the insurgency in seven weeks.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq5dec05,1,4285455.story?coll=la-headlines-worl

[acmavm]

1. "...We have two months to improve the security situation."

Yes, they've done so well up to this point, what's another couple of months?

[NMDemDist2]

2. sad that 3 of 18 provinces can make the whole country wait

for a government

the south and the Kurd areas are fairly stable and should be able to vote, but I see his point that without the Sunni's being represented it will cause even more trouble in the long run

[lynx rufus]

3. The election will be a joke, anyway

US puppet guaranteed

[Chicago Democrat]

4. Not really... Sistani will triumph no doubt and will have real power

This will leave the Sunni's and Kurds completely pissed off and fuel the insurgency. This will leave the US supporting a government that is run by the Ayatolla Ali Sistani, the minority party will be the Sadr/Chalabi party which is Pro-Iran.


insane and completely a waste of blood and treasure.

[barb162]

5. I don't know... I read there are about 30 parties. Of course,

there will be one top party and we can assume that will be the shiites probably since they have the most people. What if Sistani and his group try to rule to be benevolent to all major groups? Could things settle down and we get the hell out of there. I know I am dreaming a very beautiful dream.

[KC21304]

6. I heard something today that I didn't know.

The Kurds are Sunni. So if they throw in with the other Sunnis they could give the Shia a run for their money. Then the ratio would be close to 5o-50. Wouldn't that be a dandy mess ?

[bambo53]

7. Whatever happened to the 3 separate countries idea?

[KC21304]

8. That still may be.

I was watching a Daily Show I had taped from last week and C.Hitchens was on and beside the same old crap he did tell me something I did not know, which is that the Kurds are Sunni. I seem to remember that they are not Arab so maybe that is why they were treated badly by the other Iraqi Sunnis.

And then today on one of the morning shows someone else mentioned that the Kurds are Sunni and if they side with the Sunnis from the triangle they would be close to 50 % and could stack up very well against the Shia.

[ooglymoogly]

9. the kurds hate the baath Sunni

Saddam is a baath Sunni. he gassed the kurds with mustard gas, so i don't see that in the cards, my bet is if the elections are fair, ha ha, the shiite will pick the next leader and a holey man at that. there used to be many christians in both the kurdish and arab populations of iraq which if they are still around are a wild card.