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description=3 posts published by Reidar Visser during October 2007;

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Text of the page (random words):
2007 october iraq and gulf analysis iraq and gulf analysis home about archives august 2015 january 2015 december 2014 october 2014 september 2014 august 2014 july 2014 june 2014 may 2014 april 2014 march 2014 february 2014 january 2014 december 2013 november 2013 october 2013 september 2013 august 2013 july 2013 june 2013 may 2013 april 2013 march 2013 february 2013 january 2013 december 2012 november 2012 october 2012 september 2012 august 2012 july 2012 june 2012 may 2012 april 2012 march 2012 february 2012 january 2012 december 2011 november 2011 october 2011 september 2011 august 2011 july 2011 june 2011 may 2011 april 2011 march 2011 february 2011 january 2011 december 2010 november 2010 october 2010 september 2010 august 2010 july 2010 june 2010 may 2010 april 2010 march 2010 february 2010 january 2010 december 2009 november 2009 october 2009 september 2009 august 2009 july 2009 june 2009 may 2009 april 2009 march 2009 february 2009 january 2009 december 2008 november 2008 october 2008 september 2008 august 2008 july 2008 june 2008 may 2008 april 2008 march 2008 february 2008 january 2008 december 2007 november 2007 october 2007 september 2007 august 2007 july 2007 june 2007 may 2007 april 2007 march 2007 february 2007 january 2007 december 2006 november 2006 october 2006 september 2006 august 2006 july 2006 june 2006 may 2006 april 2006 march 2006 february 2006 january 2006 december 2005 november 2005 october 2005 august 2005 categories basra and southern regionalism 34 de baathification 11 federalism in sunni majority areas of iraq 14 federalism in the middle east 6 iranian influence in iraq 55 iraq regionalism general 27 iraq and soft partition 39 iraq international relations 5 iraq local elections 2013 21 iraq parliament membership 13 iraq parliamentary elections 2014 26 iraq s 2010 parliamentary election 175 iraqi constitutional issues 280 iraqi nationalism 95 kirkuk and disputed territories 47 oil in iraq 46 rule of law 2 sectarian master narrative 55 shiite sectarian federalism 16 uia dynamics 133 uncategorized 59 us policy in iraq leverage issues 67 meta create account log in entries feed comments feed wordpress com my latest book on amazon com from just world books available on amazon com twitter updates tweets by reidarvisser october 2007 m t w t f s s 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 sep nov subscribe entries rss comments rss recent posts legality and constitutionality questions in iraq s reform push the federalism dimension in yemen s draft constitution federalism and decentralization in libya s constitutional proposals groundbreaking iraq supreme court ruling on the law on mp replacement after the rise of isis will iraq s shiites secede additional ministers approved for the iraq cabinet the controversial kurdish ministers in the new iraqi cabinet the iraqi parliament fails to approve new security ministers the iraqi parliament approves the abbadi cabinet haydar al abbadi is the new iraq pm candidate maliki the presidency and parliament in the iraq pm nomination battle pm nomination trouble in iraq iraq elects fuad masum as new president for the first time in iraq a large field of presidential candidates the iraqi parliament elects its new speakership archive for october 2007 logical breakdown of biden s iraq plan posted by reidar visser on wednesday 10 october 2007 23 05 letter to the editor published in the hill washington d c despite attempts by sen joe biden d del to explain his plan for iraq in greater detail biden rebuts criticism of iraq decentralization plan oct 2 some obvious flaws in his scheme remain the main problem is purely logical if biden is to be given credit for a distinctive iraq plan then this plan must either make the iraqis do something they will not do of their own free will or it must enable them to do something that they want to do but which the bush administration is currently preventing them from doing biden denies that it is the former so his challenge is to prove that the bush administration is suppressing a genuine iraqi desire to do something about federalism that corresponds to biden s ideas the problem with that is that if one asks iraqis they will refer to the full fledged iraqi legal framework for federalization that already exists and which requires no outside intervention whatsoever the procedures for implementing federalism in iraq consisting of the iraqi constitution and the detailed legislation adopted in october 2006 unequivocally assert that 1 no federalization can start before april 1 2008 2 any new federal regions should come as the result of popular grassroots initiatives in the existing governorates and 3 there is no imperative for every governorate in iraq to opt for a federal status theoretically the number of new federal regions may be anywhere from zero to 15 biden s plan either violates all three of these aspects of the iraqi legal framework or it has no meaning it all posted in iraq and soft partition comments off on logical breakdown of biden s iraq plan now is the worst possible time to leave basra posted by reidar visser on monday 8 october 2007 23 59 during prime minister gordon brown s recent visit to basra it became clear that the british government would consider handing basra over to iraqi control as early as november this year in justifying the move british officials have emphasized the increased capability of iraqi security forces statistics by iraqi authorities of an alleged 70 percent reduction in crime in basra over a two month period have also been quoted full story here posted in basra and southern regionalism uia dynamics us policy in iraq leverage issues comments off on now is the worst possible time to leave basra biden bush and the moderate centre of iraqi politics posted by reidar visser on sunday 7 october 2007 23 59 op ed published on 7 october 2007 in the news journal wilmington delaware the home state of senator joseph biden the principal american advocate of soft partition in iraq sunday september 30 2007 saw a rare display of iraqi american unity in baghdad the us embassy as well as scores of iraqi politicians joined forces in condemning a us senate resolution to impose a federal state structure on all parts of iraq in general there was agreement that the proposal which had been introduced by senator joseph biden constituted gross interference in iraqi internal affairs iraq already has a specific and very elaborate procedure for deciding the federalism issue but both the timeline nothing will start until april 1 2008 as well as the size and number of the future federal entities to be decided by popular referendums on the basis of grassroots initiatives are clearly at variance with the senate s proposal of an international conference intended to accelerate and simplify matters for once it seemed as if the bush administration and the iraqis were united in stressing the virtues of a unified iraq capable of recovering from sectarian distrust there was one anomaly in this picture of iraqi american unity of purpose the main forces that pulled together to condemn the senate s decision were mostly from parties that are being largely ignored by the bush administration they included sadrists the fadila party independents and daawa members of the united iraqi alliance the tawafuq bloc and secular groups like iraqiyya and national dialogue front all in all they made up a strong shiite sunni alliance accounting for more than a simple majority in iraq s parliament by way of contrast all of washington s principal allies in iraq were absent the kurds enthusiastically welcomed the senate decision and the islamic supreme council of iraq wavered in its response probably understanding some obvious parallels between the senate proposal and their own scheme for a shiite region but also sensing a public opinion blowing in a different direction could the message from baghdad have been any clearer is there now any doubt as to where the real center in iraqi politics is located the reactions in baghdad to the senate decision show clearly that there is in fact a majority of iraqi politicians that are prepared to work for the bush administration s goal of a unified and non sectarian iraq staunchly independent from its neighbors while at the same time at peace with them but this majority is different from the elusive moderate coalition that washington has tried to cultivate over the past year so far without any success in terms of benchmark legislation or national reconciliation it is a majority that differs from the bush administration s preferred allies in some key respects it might for example be more restrictive towards foreign investment in the oil sector and would no doubt like to see a timetable for the withdrawal of us troops but this majority are the politicians that could deliver what should be the united states primary objective in an iraq of lowered and more realistic expectations maintenance of the country s territorial integrity instead of its absorption into the realms of neighboring states as separate fiefdoms engaging with this nationalist majority would require a rethink in washington above all with regard to federalism it is now high time that us politicians understand that ethnic and sectarian variants of federalism are simply considered unbeautiful by most iraqis and to insist on their implementation would only make matters worse the alternative is to try to build on the majority potential that is so evident in these latest reactions in baghdad to the us senate s proposal offer a timetable for withdrawal of us troops in return for a revision of the constitution that would include some kind of limits on federalism yes limits it is such limits that have the potential to build bridges between sunnis and shiites in iraq to reinvigorate iraqi nationalism and to help heal sectarian conflict they have repeatedly been proposed by nationalist forces in iraq but are routinely being blocked by washington s allies among the kurds and in the islamic supreme council of iraq who have jostled their way to key positions in the constitutional revision committee true this is the logical opposite of what senator biden has just proposed but then again a viable way forward in iraq will be one that enjoys a clear majority in the iraqi parliament rather than in the us senate posted in iraq and soft partition iraqi constitutional issues iraqi nationalism comments off on biden bush and the moderate centre of iraqi politics create a free website or blog at wordpress com subscribe subscribed iraq and gulf analysis join 203 other subscribers sign me up already have a wordpress com account log in now privacy iraq and gulf analysis subscribe subscribed sign up log in report this content view site in reader manage subscriptions collapse this bar design a site like this with wordpress com get started