A hypcritical Congress meddles yet again

Considering it was a mantra that the US should not be forcing democracy on Iraq, or any country... plus the accusations that we were forcing them to model an Iraqi government after out own... it's inordinately hypocritical of the US Congress to dictate to Iraqis by "non-binding resolution" just how to structure their country. Ala, the latest meddling by Congress insisting that Iraq be split into three secular pieces. Can you say chutzpah?

The nonbinding Senate resolution calls for Iraq to be divided into federal regions under control of the three communities in a power-sharing agreement similar to the one that ended the 1990s war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., Delaware Democrat, was a prime sponsor of the measure.

Justifiably, Iraqi has, in no uncertain terms, told the Senators to mind their own bloody business. They know little of the intrinsic and complex relationship between the Iraqi Shia/Sunni/Kurds.

"It is an Iraqi affair dealing with Iraqis," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on a return flight to Baghdad from New York where he appeared at the U.N. General Assembly. "Iraqis are eager for Iraq's unity. ... Dividing Iraq is a problem, and a decision like that would be a catastrophe."

snip

On Thursday, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shi'ite, said decisions about Iraq must remain in the hands of its citizens. And a spokesman for radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded the al-Maliki government reject the proposal.

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UPDATE 9/30/07

Statements from Iraqi officials on US Senatorial meddling:

At a news conference earlier Sunday, at least nine Iraqi political parties and party blocs representing both Shiites and Sunnis said the Senate resolution would diminish Iraq's sovereignty and called for an Iraqi law banning any division of the country along sectarian or ethnic lines.

"This proposal was based on the incorrect reading and unrealistic estimations of Iraq's past, present and future," according to the statement read by Izzat al-Shahbandar, a representative of the Iraqi National List, a secular political party.

"(The proposal) opposes all laws of the international community and its legitimate institutions which protect all the rights of people in self-decision, building their future and defending their unity and sovereignty," he said.

On Friday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told The Associated Press that "dividing Iraq is a problem, and a decision like that would be a catastrophe."

The Iraqi govt is not alone in condemning the non-binding demand from a desperate Congress. The US Embassy in Iraq also pointed out it was a clear path to "...produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed."

The WH admin also released the following statement. Note, once again, it "defines victory" for the liberal hearing impaired.....

"Our goal in Iraq remains the same: a united, democratic, federal Iraq that can govern, defend, and sustain itself," the statement said. "Iraq's leaders must and will take the lead in determining how to achieve these national aspirations. ... attempts to partition or divide Iraq by intimidation, force or other means into three separate states would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed."

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When it comes to this country's national security, Congress - lacking vision and complex cultural understanding of the region and of Islamic sects - is becoming a serious fly in the ointment. Their arrogant mandates, based on ignorance and implemented for pure political reasons, are nothing short of dangerous.