Empire Falls

Right after the local powerbrokers of the Iraqi Governing Council turned around and bit the very American hand that fed them, there was yet another sign of the United States' diminishing authority on all matters related to Iraq: the revised UN resolution submitted to the Security Council on Tuesday. Both the IGC's ability to out-maneuver the Americans over the appointment of the interim government and the success of Security Council naysayers such as Russia and China in securing significant concessions reflect the Bush administration's increasingly precarious position: there is blood in the water and everyone can smell it. The combination of the impending U.S. elections, Abu Ghraib torture pictures, the climb-downs with ex-Ba'athists in Najaf, the Shi'a militia in Fallujah and the mounting U.S. casualties have taken a serious toll on the White House's negotiating power. And the proof is in the details of the draft resolution.

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New Iraqi Government Announced
by Juan Cole

How weak the Americans have become in Iraq became clear in Iraq on Tuesday when their choice for the ceremonial post of president of the transitional government had to withdraw in favor of Ghazi al-Yawar, the choice of the Interim Governing Council. Special UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi announced Pachachi as president with the blessing of lame duck American proconsul Paul Bremer. But almost immediately, Pachachi stepped down in favor of al-Yawar, feeling that he lacked the support on the IGC that would be necessary.

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The Boondocks

Strings Attached
by Billmon

The big story this morning was obviously the carefully scripted conclusion to the hit comedy series Who Wants To Be President of the New Iraq®? in which the runner up, diplomatic patriarch Adnan Pachachi, graciously bowed out in favor of U.S.-educated tribal leader Ghazi Yawar, who - as the news media repeatedly remind us - demonstrates his independence from the massive army currently occupying his country by dressing in the robes of a nomadic Bedouin chief. Hey, it worked for Peter O'Toole.

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“Why are they doing this to us?”

He is a well spoken, handsome lawyer, just a year older than I am. He worked as a diplomat who coordinated NGOs and foreign governments in order to bring aid to his country during the sanctions. He was detained and accused of being a spy for Saddam Hussein, even though he is not even a Baathist. He was hung from his ankles for hours in Abu Ghraib, until he passed out. I ask him what else happened to him in there. He pulls up the legs of his trousers to show me two electrical burns on the inside of his knees, and points to two more on his elbows.

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