In Pakistan: US looks at plan to oust Musharraf. How do you spell coup?
THE US has indicated for the first time that it might be willing to back plans by elite echelons of the military in Islamabad to oust Pervez Musharraf from power, as the Pakistani President was beset by major new difficulties over his attempts to sack the country's chief justice.
Reports yesterday quoting highly placed US diplomatic and intelligence officials - previously rusted on to the view that General Musharraf was an indispensable Western ally in the battle against terrorism - outlined a succession plan to replace him.
[...]
The report adds another dimension to the range of challenges bearing down on the embattled military ruler following his weekend sacking of chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, whom he appointed just over a year ago.
Thousands of lawyers clashed with baton-wielding riot police yesterday during a nationwide day of action against the sacking of the top judge. About 3000 lawyers wearing smart black suits and chanting "Down with Musharraf" dismantled barriers in an attempt to stage a sit-in outside the Lahore High Court building.
Lawyers? Protesting? In "smart black suits"? If only we could get some US lawyers (dressed in "smart black suits") out there in the streets protesting against Abu Gonzales. I'll bet even CNN would show that protest.
Meanwhile, over in Iraq: Al-Maliki tells aides U.S. benchmark deadline is June 30 or his ouster possible
And which benchmark is that, you ask?
BAGHDAD: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fears the Americans will withdraw support for his government — effectively ousting him — if parliament does not pass a draft oil law by the end of June, close associates of the Iraqi leader told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The legislature has not even taken up the draft measure for a fair distribution of the nation's oil wealth — only one of several U.S. benchmarks that are now seen by al-Maliki, a hardline Shiite, as key to continued American support for his troubled government.
Makes sense to me. After all, we can't have the Big Oil CEOs sitting around twiddling their thumbs if al-Maliki fails to deliver. We're talking black gold, Texas tea (except it's in Iraq so I guess it's Iraq tea). Rarely is the question asked, Whose Oil Is It, Anyway?.
Beyond that, the al-Maliki associates told AP, American officials have informed the prime minister they want an Iraqi government in place by year's end that would be acceptable to Iraq's Sunni Arab neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.
"They have said it must be secular and inclusive," one al-Maliki associate said.
So, let's see. The US administration illegaly invades Iraq; shocks & awes which leads to widespread looting ("stuff happens", insists Rumsfeld); doesn't send enough troops (or extra stuff like body armour); thinks they'll be greeted as liberators; watches as all hell breaks loose; has Bush declare Mission Accomplished when it wasn't, obviously; has no clue how to fight a counter-insurgency; causes civil war to break out; (there were purple fingers in there somewhere too); tries band-aid solutions that predictably fail (did I mention all of the dead people?) - yet these clowns expect al-Maliki to have a suitable government in place by the end of this year that everyone will be happy with? What are they on? Prescription crack?
Yes, apparently they are:
For its part, the U.S. military is speaking with great optimism about its efforts to turn Sunnis in volatile Anbar province away from the insurgency and its al-Qaida in Iraq allies.
Good luck with that! You're going to need it.
RAMADI, Iraq, March 13 — Minutes before Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki arrived here by helicopter on Tuesday for his first official visit to Anbar Province, the epicenter of the Sunni Arab insurgency, his advance team of security guards had one last piece of business to take care of.
They frisked each member of the Iraqi Army honor guard that stood in formation at the edge of the heliport on an American military base and inspected the soldiers’ Kalashnikov rifles to ensure that each was empty of bullets.
They were not leaving anything to chance, not here amid a population that harbors a deep mistrust for the Shiite-led central government in Baghdad.
Yes, when you can't even trust the honor guard, you know you're in very deep shit.
The rise of Al Qaeda here has weakened traditional tribal bonds and contributed to a widening split between moderate tribal leaders and nationalist guerrillas on one side and fundamentalist militant groups, including Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and their local allies on the other.
Through all of this runs a powerful streak of independence. The region’s tribes never succumbed entirely to Mr. Hussein, preferring to remain in rugged isolation. But after boycotting parliamentary elections in 2005, American officials say, Anbar’s leaders now want to be involved in national politics.
The meetings on Tuesday were private; participants of the first session said it had been civil. During the second gathering, however, several sheiks became so worked up that their voices were audible outside the room’s thick walls.
“I think this is healthy,” an American military adviser said, sotto voce, as a sheik launched into a harangue about the inadequacies of the provincial government. The adviser’s eyebrows leapt upward theatrically. “Democracy!” he concluded.
Rumble!, I'd say.
It's going to be an interesting spring. Stay tuned.
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