At BROOKINGS, Marsin Alshamary wonders what, if anything, Mustafa al-Kadhimi has accomplished since becoming prime minister on May 7th? There's the call for early elections. Marsin notes:
In August, he proposed an election date of June 6, 2021. Proposing a date, however, does not ensure that early elections will occur, since it has to be ratified by the Council of Representatives. Early elections require financing, and Kadhimi’s cabinet has not proposed a federal budget for 2021, despite it being on his list of priorities. Proposing a budget that includes electoral financing would pressure the Council of Representatives to agree to this date. An already difficult task, as it requires parliamentarians to vote themselves out of a job.
So failure there. And the protesters were also calling for smaller districts and Mustafa hasn't even touched on that issue. Mustafa's failing on COVID. What about on the issue of justice? Marsin points out:
Kadhimi has repeatedly promised to seek justice for the hundreds of protesters who lost their lives in the past year, but has yet to do so. It was not until October that Kadhimi formed an official committee to investigate those crimes. In a televised interview, he explained that it was a time-consuming and difficult task, which required patience. In private interviews, activists expressed skepticism at his ability to implement early reforms and to seek justice for the killed protesters. They also expressed concern at his inability to stop the assassinations and kidnappings of civil society activists in Iraq today, which continue to take place under Kadhimi’s watch, such as the killing of security researcher Dr. Husham Al-Hashimi and the Basra-based activist Dr. Riham Yaqoob.
After reviewing a variety of failures, Marsin points out, "Six months ago, Kadhimi’s government was lauded for presenting the right intentions for reform, but today, his inactions speak louder."
We should note one thing that Marsin didn't. The lauding? Led by a certain news outlet. Led by a certain news outlet that Mustafa had worked at -- something they failed to disclose when issuing columns and editorials praising Mustafa.
Meanwhile, Dave DeCamp (ANTIWAR.COM) reports:
France will make it clear to Washington that Paris opposes US withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan. France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made the statement on Friday, ahead of a visit from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is traveling to the country next week.
Le Drian’s comments come during President Trump’s shake-up in the Pentagon that is rumored to be related to differences over troop withdrawals. Trump has also expressed his desire to bring all troops home from Afghanistan by Christmas, but so far, no orders have been given.
That may confuse you because you may remember the March reports that France had withdrawn its own troops from Iraq. Or maybe you're confused because you're wondering what right France has to dictate or whine about this issue? They pull their troops but they don't want others to do the same?
March 25th, AP reported, "France is pulling out its military forces from Iraq as French forces are increasingly called upon to help fight the coronavirus at home." Holly Johnston (RUDAW) reports:
France will tell the US to delay withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday.
Le Drian appeared on French TV on Monday morning in a wide-ranging
interview which in part addressed US foreign policy in the Middle East.
He warned the US against speeding up the pullout of its troops from both
Afghanistan and Iraq.
"It shouldn’t be done, in our opinion, in Iraq either, and we will tell him [Pompeo] that," Le Drian told BFM's Jean-Jacques Bourdin.
The foreign minister's comments came ahead of a Monday meeting with US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is currently on a multi-nation tour
as his tenure comes to an end. Pompeo is also due to meet with French
President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.
Kat and Elaine "Kat's Korner: Sam Smith's LOVE BLOWS" went up yesterday.
