Anyone remember what happened when the Iraqis tried having their real elections?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A42905-2003Jun27?language=printer

Occupation Forces Halt Elections Throughout Iraq

By William Booth and Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, June 28, 2003; Page A20

SAMARRA, Iraq -- U.S. military commanders have ordered a halt to local elections and self-rule in provincial cities and towns across Iraq, choosing instead to install their own handpicked mayors and administrators, many of whom are former Iraqi military leaders.

The decision to deny Iraqis a direct role in selecting municipal governments is creating anger and resentment among aspiring leaders and ordinary citizens, who say the U.S.-led occupation forces are not making good on their promise to bring greater freedom and democracy to a country dominated for three decades by Saddam Hussein.

The go-slow approach to representative government in at least a dozen provincial cities is especially frustrating to younger, middle-class professionals who say they want to help their communities emerge from postwar chaos and to let, as one put it, "Iraqis make decisions for Iraq."

"They give us a general," said Bahith Sattar, a biology teacher and tribal leader in Samarra who was a candidate for mayor until that election was canceled last week. "What does that tell you, eh? First of all, an Iraqi general? They lost the last three wars! They're not even good generals. And they know nothing about running a city."

The most recent order to stop planning for elections was made by Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, which controls the northern half of Iraq. It follows similar decisions by the 3rd Infantry Division in central Iraq and those of British commanders in the south.

In the capital, Baghdad, U.S. officials never scheduled elections for a city government, but have said they are forming neighborhood councils that at some point will play a role in the selection of a municipal government.

L. Paul Bremer, the civil administrator of Iraq, said in an interview that there is "no blanket prohibition" against self-rule. "I'm not opposed to it, but I want to do it a way that takes care of our concerns. . . . Elections that are held too early can be destructive. It's got to be done very carefully."

[Solly Mack]

1. Yep

K&R

[NNN0LHI]

3. I bet a lot of people don't remember

Its not mentioned much.

Don

[Solly Mack]

5. I'm glad you posted this....people need to be reminded

Too much about Iraq is being forgotten.

[zonmoy]

2. yes the natives of the colonies cant be allowed to make decisions

till we brutalize them to the point that they will only make the decisions we want them to make.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. The real vote?

[bbgrunt]

6. remember? hell, it was hardly even reported when it happened.

[Bonobo]

7. I didn't remember it and I have followed more or less like a hawk. WTF?

[NNN0LHI]

15. Page A20 in the Washington Post hidden in between the furniture advertisements

Al least they did get the headline correct back then though. The probably caught hell about that and began referring to our occupation forces as coalition forces soon thereafter.

Don

[Marr]

8. Yep. It wasn't reported much, because it puts the lie to all that neocon talk of

'transforming the region by setting a democratic example in Iraq'. They've done nothing but fight democracy at every step, both at home and abroad. Remember the neocons' reaction to the Turkish government when they chose to listen to overwhelming popular opinion and not play along with our Iraq plans? I believe it was Wolfowitz who openly suggested that the Turkish military should overthrow their government. Or their reaction to Spanish voters giving Asnar the boot?

These people despise democracy. This is about controlling wealth, nothing more.

[Muttocracy]

9. kick and rec nt

[Joanne98]

10. Yep! They wanted to privatize the country first.

[Joanne98]

11. The Shock Doctrine...

In the summer after Iraq's invasion, there was so much pent-up hunger for political participation that Baghdad, for all it's daily hardships, displayed an almost carnival-like atmosphere. There was anger at bremer's layoffs, and frustration with the blackouts and the foreign contractors, but for months that anger was primarily expressed through outbursts of unregulated, exuberant free speech. All summer there were daily protests outside of the gates of the Green Zone, by many workers demanding their old jobs back. Hundreds of new newspapers flew off the printing presses, filled with articles critical of Bremer and his new economic program. Clerics preached politics during the Friday sermons, a freedom impossible under Saddam.

Most exciting of all, there were spontaneous elections breaking out in cities, towns and provinces across the country. Finally free of Saddam's iron grip, neighbors were convening town hall meetings and electing leaders to represent them in this new era. In cities like Samarra, Hilla and Mosul, religious leaders, secular professionals and tribespeople worked together to set local priorities for reconstruction, defying the worst predictions about sectarianism and fundamentalism. Meetings were heated, but by many accounts they were also joyous: the challeges were enormous but freedom was becoming a reality. In many cases US forces, believing their president when he said the army had been sent to Iraq to spread democracy, played a facilatating role, helping to organize the elections, even building ballot boxes.

The democratic enthusiasm, combined with the clear rejection of Bremer's economic program, but the bush administration in an extremely difficult position. It had made bold promises to hand over power to an elected Iraqi government in a matter of months and to include Iraqis in decision making right away. But that summer left no doubt that any relinquishing of power would mean abandoning the dream of turning Iraq into a model privatized economy dotted with sprawling US military bases; economic nationalism was far too deeply ingrained in the populace, particularly when it came to the national oil reserves, the greatest prize of all. So Washington abandoned its democratic promises and instead ordered increrases in the shock levels in the hope that a higher dosage would finally do the trick. It was a decision that brought the crusade for a pure free market back to full circle to it's roots in the southern cone of Latin America, when economic shock therapy was enforced by brutally suppressing democracy and by disapearing and torturing anyone who stood in the way.

[pleah]

12. Thanks for the reminder!

K&R

[Stevepol]

13. Anybody remember what happened when the US tried to have a real election in 2004?

Think.

It had something to do with voting machines and exit polls.

Try harder.

[NNN0LHI]

14. L. Paul Bremer: I'm not opposed to it, but I want to do it a way that takes care of our concerns ...

Interesting statement.

Don