[lbo-talk] WP: Bremer okays the formation of Iraqi paramilitary units

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Wed Nov 5 18:46:48 PST 2003


On Wed, 5 Nov 2003, Doug Henwood wrote:


> Is this Post-ese for death squads?

Yep. And it's not just the Post. "Paramilitary groups" and "death squads" are synonyms everywhere.

It's all inchoate at this stage. But it clearly contains the seeds of death squads, a police state and the de facto break up of the country (in the institutionalization of the Kurdish militias).

It seems to be a proposal for dealing with the central political problem of the occupation -- the illegitimacy of the IGC -- by entrenching it. Rather than dissolving and starting again with a real provisional government in whose parliament national leaders with real legitimacy could develop.

It might be just a trial balloon. But if this is the face of the future, it makes it look as if the charade of democracy is being set to be eventually exchanged for the old fashioned cold-war solution of "friendly" authoritarianism.

Michael



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