Ahmed Rasheed, Michael Gregory and Mark Heinrich (Reuters) report that the Parliament has put the brakes on the Iraq prime minister's reforms or 'reforms.'
How so?
They've voted to prevent him from unilaterally (and unconstitutionally) implementing reforms.
As anyone who's paid attention to Iraq in the last years should grasp, that means the end of Haider's reforms or 'reforms.'
Parliamentary approval will be hard to come by -- as it has been since 2006.
Back in June 2014, US President Barack Obama began pressing for Iraq to create a national guard. And to this day, that proposal remains blocked in Parliament.
That is but one example.
The Iraqi Group for Stategic Studies' Wathiq al-Hashimi tells Reuters he believes the next move could be a vote of no-confidence.
When Haider still had power, the US government failed to press him to work on the political solution.
That's the only thing that will defeat the Islamic State.
A political solution would create an inclusive Iraq which would rob the Islamic State of its legitimacy.
Barack's do-nothing on this front approach was aided by stupidity.
It's almost hilarious to watch the hand wringing and outrage the west expresses now over the Islamic State.
They killed someone!
They kidnapped someone!
They sold someone into sexual slavery!
As if any of that's a recent development in Iraq?
As if when the Iraqi government, under Nouri al-Maliki, was raping Iraqi women and girls (Sunnis) in prisons and jails. Parliament established this fact.
But the west wasn't concerned with this. There was no outrage over this.
Or when Nouri had reporters rounded up when they covered the Sunni protests?
And this actually made it into the western media with Liz Sly (Washington Post) and Kelly McEvers (NPR) both reporting on it.
This was the Iraqi government kidnapping reporters from an outdoor eatery, whisking them off, beating them and trying to intimidate them.
And it was reported by two huge US outlets.
But no hand wringing.
No outrage.
The Islamic State is a terrorist group.
That they carry out inhumane, criminal acts against the Iraqi people is no surprise.
That the Iraqi government has done the same?
That's a serious outrage.
And the Iraqi government continues to look the other way as Sunnis continue to be targeted.
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Shia militias crimes destroyed Sunni mosque {Fattah mosque} in Baiji
#Iraq and raised sectarian banners#warcrimes
#IRAQ شمرية العراق
Who protects the Sunnis?
The silence that follows that question goes a long, long way towards explaining how the Islamic State established a toe-hold in Iraq in the first place.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
