Next Chapter Sent Back for Edits
A couple of weeks ago Tony Blair declared “the next chapter in Basra’s history can be written by the Iraqis.” Yesterday, the Brits raided an Iraqi government intelligence agency compound and found a secret prison full of torture victims. Get me rewrite!
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a conservative Shiite, condemned the raid in Basra. He publicly said nothing about the evidence of torture.*
“The prime minister has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident of breaking into the security compound in Basra and stressed the need to punish those who have carried out this illegal and irresponsible act,” said the full text of a statement issued late Sunday by his office.
It remained unclear why he sought to pursue the raiding force aggressively rather than the accusations of prisoner abuse. Efforts to reach officials in his office were unsuccessful.
Interesting development. It will be interesting to see what affect this has on British redeployment plans, if any. Blair said the other day that his departure will bring anti-war voters back to the Labor Party and Iraq as an electoral issue “goes with me.”
Iraq isn’t going anywhere. Maybe this development will wake British voters up to the fact that the goal is stable and viable government in Iraq, freedom for its people, and that this is a difficult but worthwhile task.
The bottom half of the NYT article linked above does a better job than the previously linked AP article in descrbing the role and behavior of al-Sadr and his militia in relation to security operations, by the way.
*Later AP version states that al-Maliki’s aide has called for an investigation of the torture perpetrators, and states that al-Maliki’s remarks Sunday were ambiguous, quite possibly aimed at the torturers and not at those who conducted the raid. NYT version does not appear to be ambiguous.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:07 am on Monday, March 5, 2007
7 Responses to “Next Chapter Sent Back for Edits”
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March 5th, 2007 at 10:37 am
Must be frustrating for al-Maliki, being held to a higher standard and all. But if he truly wants a stable Iraq, he’d best get into the 21st Century. Or even the 20th.
March 5th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
“Iraq PM vows to punish allies for Basra raid”
PM Al-Maliki Orders Probe Into British-Iraqi Raid BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq’s government opened a probe Monday into a British-Iraqi raid on a police intelligence headquarters in southern Iraq that captured an alleged death squad leader and found 30 pri…
March 5th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
What a perfect little Janus mask al-Maliki wears. I guess it makes it easier to speak out of both sides of his mouth at once.
The rule of law applied to all is either your goal, or it is nothing but a pretense. Guess which one I think it is.
March 5th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
This can’t be true. Cheney said the British were pulling out because Basra was so peaceful that the pullout represents real success. And we all know Cheney would never lie to us.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
corndog:
Cheney did not lie to anyone. Besides if you and your ilk had your way Saddam would still be putting people through plastic shredders and running childrens prisons. It is not as if you give a damn about dead Iraqis you little hypocrite.
The Brits did the raid and Maliki did not stop them. That is what matters.
March 5th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Prisoners in torture chambers are generally a pretty peaceful bunch. I don’t see what the problem here is, since the leftards would have had Saddam still in power operating similar torture facilities anyway, and one would have to be a drooling moron to believe this sort of thing wouldn’t return after we cut/run per the democrat’s “plan”.
6 of one, half dozen of the other. Meh. Can’t bitch about that which you’re knowingly willing to enable.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
It’s very difficult to change the culture of a thousand years, and let’s face it, the people of the middle east have had to live with this for a lot longer than that. It’s why we need to stay, all of us. To enforce an Enlightened way.