The Monster We Created in Iraq

A recent article in the NY Times outlines the growing disputes in Iraq over the rule of law in Iraqi politics. Prime Minister Nur al-Malaki ordered the Iraqi Army's Fourth Division to cordon off the provisional council building on Tuesday in the latest of a number of moves that call into question the quality of democracy imposed by the US.

It is the second time the Prime Minister has shown his willingness to use force to impose his political will.  This most recent intervention involved a dispute over the provincial council’s legal powers to appoint a governor.  As a result, Mr. Maliki ordered in the military to exert executive power.

An earlier intervention appears to be even more suspect. According to the New York Times:

"Mr. Maliki’s government has acted with, at best, disputed legal authority.
In Diyala Province, a leading candidate from one of the main blocs challenging Mr. Maliki’s political coalition, known as State of Law, was arrested Sunday night by special forces sent from Baghdad only days after he took part in a recorded debate in which he criticized the security forces.
Warrants are said to have been issued for five other members of that province’s legislature on charges that remain unclear."


The reasons for the interventions stem from weak democratic institutions and values.


NY Times: "The political turmoil convulsing Iraq stems not just from suspenseful elections in which Mr. Maliki, a Shiite who has allied with several Sunni politicians, appears to be losing popular support and potentially his chances for re-election.
It also stems from an untested separation of powers, opaque back-room agreements and a loose fidelity to the country’s laws, whose interpretation often depends on who is reading them.
“Iraq is like a sick person,” the speaker of Parliament, Ayad al-Samarrai, said at a recent news conference. “All its organs are ailing.”

One only hopes for a successful democracy in Iraq. Iraqis are certainly capable of democracy, despite the "culturalists" who argue that only a strong dictator can hold together Iraqi's "madly warring" factions. However, well-intentioned (I hope!) Americans created institutions and initial conditions that favored sectariansim and weak government. Now, Iraqis have to live with the consequences.