2008 Woodie Awards
Point-Counterpoint: al'Jaafari's new government
U.S. right to advise process
Mike Papincak
Issue date: 4/7/06 Section: Opinions & Editorials
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The conflict between the Bush administration and Prime Minister Ibrahiim al'Jaafari of Iraq is based mostly on the fact that Iraq needs to be unified and a government needs to be put properly in place - so far, it seems that this prime minister has not been doing his job. And if he has been trying, it is without much success. However, it is not our job to pick politicians for Iraq, and we are not doing so.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British foreign minister Jack Straw have recently made a surprise visit to Iraq to deliver a message that should wake up the Iraqi politicians and get them moving on developing their government. Like I said, we are not in Iraq to select their politicians and that is not what Rice and Straw have done or plan to do. What they did was go over to Iraq to deliver the message that the prime minister of Iraq must be strong and unify the government, and that the government of Iraq needs to be delivered to the people.
Iraq is also in a political stalemate because of this, and Rice and Straw called for action to resolve this stalemate. The U.S. and Britain see that this has stunted the growth and creation of a well-formed government in Iraq, which is why their visit seemed so urgent. Without a strong, complete government, things can only get worse in Iraq. And with opposition to al'Jaafari growing, Rice, Straw and Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, all agree that this issue needs to be taken in front of the Iraqi parliament and solved.
This solution could either be to keep al'Jaafari and lessen the opposition toward him, or to vote someone else in. So far, this prime minister does not have the support of most people in Iraq. Therefore, things need to change, and I think that the U.S. and Britain - plus other countries that support that war and provide troops - have the right to go to Iraq and voice their opinion on the matter for two reasons: 1) We are both developed and successful democracies and 2) We have invested as a country not only billions of dollars and years of time in a successful Iraqi democracy, but we have also invested the lives of our people.
The success of their government is up to them at this point - we are only there to help, give advice, and give a little push from time to time. And when we see that things aren't going well, then I think, because of all we have done for them, we have a right to get involved.
I do not believe that it is right to go and hand-select the next prime minister, if one is needed, but I do think it is our job to point out that this leader needs to be a strong leader and deliver a government to the Iraqi people - one that is fair for all in Iraq and will be sustainable in the future.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British foreign minister Jack Straw have recently made a surprise visit to Iraq to deliver a message that should wake up the Iraqi politicians and get them moving on developing their government. Like I said, we are not in Iraq to select their politicians and that is not what Rice and Straw have done or plan to do. What they did was go over to Iraq to deliver the message that the prime minister of Iraq must be strong and unify the government, and that the government of Iraq needs to be delivered to the people.
Iraq is also in a political stalemate because of this, and Rice and Straw called for action to resolve this stalemate. The U.S. and Britain see that this has stunted the growth and creation of a well-formed government in Iraq, which is why their visit seemed so urgent. Without a strong, complete government, things can only get worse in Iraq. And with opposition to al'Jaafari growing, Rice, Straw and Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, all agree that this issue needs to be taken in front of the Iraqi parliament and solved.
This solution could either be to keep al'Jaafari and lessen the opposition toward him, or to vote someone else in. So far, this prime minister does not have the support of most people in Iraq. Therefore, things need to change, and I think that the U.S. and Britain - plus other countries that support that war and provide troops - have the right to go to Iraq and voice their opinion on the matter for two reasons: 1) We are both developed and successful democracies and 2) We have invested as a country not only billions of dollars and years of time in a successful Iraqi democracy, but we have also invested the lives of our people.
The success of their government is up to them at this point - we are only there to help, give advice, and give a little push from time to time. And when we see that things aren't going well, then I think, because of all we have done for them, we have a right to get involved.
I do not believe that it is right to go and hand-select the next prime minister, if one is needed, but I do think it is our job to point out that this leader needs to be a strong leader and deliver a government to the Iraqi people - one that is fair for all in Iraq and will be sustainable in the future.