THE BELGRAVIA DISPATCH: Quote of the Day

August 11, 2005

Quote of the Day

Armed men entered Baghdad's municipal building during a blinding dust storm on Monday, deposed the city's mayor and installed a member of Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia. The deposed mayor, Alaa al-Tamimi, who was not in his offices at the time, recounted the events in a telephone interview on Tuesday and called the move a municipal coup d'état. He added that he had gone into hiding for fear of his life.
"This is the new Iraq," said Mr. Tamimi, a secular engineer with no party affiliation. "They use force to achieve their goal."

Well, the Old Iraq was all about using force to achieve goals too. Only thing is that Saddam didn't claim any different. We did, of course. I mean, how can we be two years plus into this invasion and have the Mayor of the capital city be so ingloriously sacked by militias not operating (ostensibly, as god knows what Jafaari signaled? Though he is Dawa not Sciri...) via central command from on high?

Posted by Gregory at August 11, 2005 01:25 AM | TrackBack (1)

Comments

We couldn't expect many months of Sunni Arabs slaughtering Shiites to pass with no consequences. Disarming militias is not likely to appeal to people under continuous assault. Under the circumstances -- that is, given the nature of the insurgency -- it may never have been a realistic idea in the first place.

Posted by: JEB at August 11, 2005 04:27 AM | Permalink to this comment

I think the whole point was that you guys were meant to make it better than Saddam? Otherwise what was your glorious war for?

Posted by: Jeremy at August 11, 2005 06:50 AM | Permalink to this comment

Is it conceivable, that the deposed mayor is not 100% unbiased? What does the provincial council say? Wasnt the provincial council elected, and the mayor OTOH chosen earlier by a council of notables?

We've seen fighting over local and provincial positions in Afghanistan. AFAICT things like this happen in unsettled new regimes.

Posted by: liberalhawk at August 11, 2005 05:25 PM | Permalink to this comment

I believe what Mr. Tamimi meant to say was, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

Posted by: Anderson at August 12, 2005 07:55 PM | Permalink to this comment

Baghdad mayor fired
The Baghdad provisional council dismissed mayor Alaa al-Timimi on Monday and sent armed personnel to his office to install his temporary replacement, officials told CNN on Tuesday.

The reasons for the dismissal were not disclosed.

further information available at source:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/09/iraq.main/index.html

Not exactly a coup, i think...

Posted by: Adriane at August 13, 2005 01:23 AM | Permalink to this comment

This goes back a long way but essentially there were three key mistakes in my view:

1. The failure to have a provisional Iraqi government - dedicated to the democratic secular form of government - ready to assume power at the outset.

2. Failure to immediately institute 24 hr. curfew with shooting on sight of looters.

3. Failure to have a control commission similar to the de-Nazification commission ready to remove anyone who opposed democratic values from positions of influence.

Posted by: field at August 13, 2005 02:34 AM | Permalink to this comment

	« Another Ineffective Counter-Insurgency Operation \| Main \| Quote of the Day (II) » August 11, 2005 Quote of the Day James Glanz: Armed men entered Baghdad's municipal building during a blinding dust storm on Monday, deposed the city's mayor and installed a member of Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia. The deposed mayor, Alaa al-Tamimi, who was not in his offices at the time, recounted the events in a telephone interview on Tuesday and called the move a municipal coup d'état. He added that he had gone into hiding for fear of his life. "This is the new Iraq," said Mr. Tamimi, a secular engineer with no party affiliation. "They use force to achieve their goal." Well, the Old Iraq was all about using force to achieve goals too. Only thing is that Saddam didn't claim any different. We did, of course. I mean, how can we be two years plus into this invasion and have the Mayor of the capital city be so ingloriously sacked by militias not operating (ostensibly, as god knows what Jafaari signaled? Though he is Dawa not Sciri...) via central command from on high? Posted by Gregory at August 11, 2005 01:25 AM \| TrackBack (1) Comments We couldn't expect many months of Sunni Arabs slaughtering Shiites to pass with no consequences. Disarming militias is not likely to appeal to people under continuous assault. Under the circumstances -- that is, given the nature of the insurgency -- it may never have been a realistic idea in the first place. Posted by: JEB at August 11, 2005 04:27 AM \| Permalink to this comment I think the whole point was that you guys were meant to make it better than Saddam? Otherwise what was your glorious war for? Posted by: Jeremy at August 11, 2005 06:50 AM \| Permalink to this comment Is it conceivable, that the deposed mayor is not 100% unbiased? What does the provincial council say? Wasnt the provincial council elected, and the mayor OTOH chosen earlier by a council of notables? We've seen fighting over local and provincial positions in Afghanistan. AFAICT things like this happen in unsettled new regimes. Posted by: liberalhawk at August 11, 2005 05:25 PM \| Permalink to this comment I believe what Mr. Tamimi meant to say was, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." Posted by: Anderson at August 12, 2005 07:55 PM \| Permalink to this comment Baghdad mayor fired The Baghdad provisional council dismissed mayor Alaa al-Timimi on Monday and sent armed personnel to his office to install his temporary replacement, officials told CNN on Tuesday. The reasons for the dismissal were not disclosed. further information available at source: http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/09/iraq.main/index.html Not exactly a coup, i think... Posted by: Adriane at August 13, 2005 01:23 AM \| Permalink to this comment This goes back a long way but essentially there were three key mistakes in my view: 1. The failure to have a provisional Iraqi government - dedicated to the democratic secular form of government - ready to assume power at the outset. 2. Failure to immediately institute 24 hr. curfew with shooting on sight of looters. 3. Failure to have a control commission similar to the de-Nazification commission ready to remove anyone who opposed democratic values from positions of influence. Posted by: field at August 13, 2005 02:34 AM \| Permalink to this comment		Reviews of Belgravia Dispatch "Best 9/11 Commentary" "Always-Worth Reading" --Andrew Sullivan "Awake" --New York Times "Must-read list" --Washington Times "Pompous Ass" --an anonymous blogospheric commenter Recent Entries UPDATE: Comments re-enabled. Thanks! 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