No one seems to be writing opinion pieces quite the way I would, so I decided to do it myself.

The name? Taverns are places where one goes to discuss the interesting events and things in the world, so this is my tavern.

I will offer my views on politics, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
I will occasionally publish the entire article from another journal for purposes of causing discussion.

 

More Problems Administering Iraq

MSNBC has an article showing another misstep by Paul Bremer that has delayed the Iraqi Constitution and the handover of sovereignty.

The key statement in the article is this: "We waited four months, thanks to Bremer," said one council member, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We could have organized this [transition] by now had we started when Sistani issued his fatwa. But the Americans were in denial.

People familiar with the lengthy discussions among U.S. officials about the fatwa said American political officers were too isolated to grasp the power of the edict right away, assuming that secular former exiles backed by the U.S. government would push Bremer's plan. Even when Sistani's clout became clear, they said Bremer remained reluctant to rework his transition plan right away. "He didn't want a Shiite cleric dictating the terms of Iraq's political future" one U.S. official with knowledge of the process said.


Once again the Bush administration is having problems because they think they know best and refuse to gather or respond to information that should change the way they intended to do things. Listening to the ideas of a few "Old Iraqi Hands" would have saved a lot of trouble for both Jay Garner and Paul Bremer - if they could have gotten Dick Cheney to permit it.
posted by Richard at 4:57 PM