In a surprise move reminiscent of the early attack on Saddam's supposed palaces with which he began the war, President Bush has set the Iraqi people free two days early. And what timing! Bush was in Turkey for a NATO meeting where he could high five other leaders and declare mission accomplished two days early. Meanwhile Proconsul Paul Bremer signed the papers in the heavily guarded Green Zone in Baghdad and then sent out a press release. All this rushing about, according to Bremer, was to "seize the political initiative" from anti-coalition militants who have been waging a bloody campaign against U.S. forces.
But of course the point is that today Iraq is free at last. Well, sort of free. It might be kind of hard to tell and there are still a lot of details to be worked out. Not a single U.S. soldier will be leaving and Saddam Hussein will still be held prisoner by the U.S. There will, of course, be elections, but they won't come until sometime in the future. And although they will be free elections, they'll be run by a U.S. appointed election committee that will outlaw any political organization or party affiliated with the insurgents' movement. And then there's also a provision signed into law by the now former Proconsul Bremer that says that U.S. citizens remaining in Iraq are not subject to Iraqi law.
Elsewhere today in free Iraq: a British soldier was killed in a bomb attack while militants threatened to behead a captured U.S. Marine, three Turks, and a Pakistani civilian. Al-Jazeera television broadcast a video showing militants holding a man identified as Wassef Ali Hassoun, a U.S. Marine of Lebanese descent. The U.S. military said a soldier by that name has been missing from his unit since 21 June.
At least the anti-coalition militants won't be seizing the political initiative. But, in any case, as of today, that's not our job. Now that Iraq is free, who ya gonna call?
Radio Free Europe (Czech Republic): Coalition Power in Iraq
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