[Dean's World] Dave Price: Rule of Law In Iraq

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Dave Price:
Rule of Law In Iraq
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1196889581.shtml


   Via [1]Glenn, Omar of Iraq The Model [2]notes some real progress:

     This incident, I believe, is not to be seen as abstract and itâs no
     coincidence that the raid on their office came amid efforts to
     prosecute corrupt officials from Sadrâs movement and the Fadheela
     Party. The list includes the former deputy minister of health, a
     Sadr follower whoâs been accused of running sectarian death squads
     and the chief of the integrity committee in the parliament; a
     member of the Fadheela Party which is believed to be involved in
     massive oil smuggling operations in the south. He is now about to
     lose parliamentary immunity over corruption charges.
     The interesting thing indeed is that the officials who are leading
     this campaign and rose to challenge the Sadrists and the
     association are from their respective sects and regions.

   Interesting indeed. It says Iraqis are putting rule of law ahead of
   sectarian loyalty.

     In Karbala, as a most recent example, the police chief finally
     declared the Mahdi Army an outlaw group. He accused them of
     murdering over 700 Iraqi civilians, 70 police officers, kidnapping
     over 130 civilians as well as conducting some 50 attacks with
     roadside bombs over the last three years in Karbala province alone.
     In my opinion, what weâre seeing right now is an exploitation of
     the achievements of the surge strategy in the direction to
     establish rule of law-step by step.

   Hopefully, once the precedent is established, most Iraqi officials
   will get the message and fall into line. It will take time to undo the
   culture of corruption, but these are heartening steps.
   Additionally, the number of trained Iraqi judges continues to
   increase, according to the [3]Brookings Institute's Iraq Index, and on
   the security front, while challenges remain, the success of local
   Concerned Citizens' groups has not gone unnoticed and will be
   capitalized upon:

     The Iraqi military credited neighborhood watch-style groups with
     tamping down violence in Baghdad, and said the number of volunteers
     in such groups would quadruple next year.
     "The reason behind the drop is the good performance of Iraqi
     security forces, support from Baghdad residents and the backing of
     U.S. troops," said Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, the chief Iraqi
     military spokesman.

   It's trends like these, built on the efforts of our soldiers, that
   [4]have Michael Yon optimistic:

     I believe there are some bloody days yet ahead in Ninevah, but that
     the conditions are set: 2008 might be the Year of Iraq. If fortune
     favors that prediction, it will be largely because of men like
     Twitty, and all those corporals and sergeants out there whose
     stories never will be told individually, but whose sacrifices are
     setting Iraq free at last.

References

   1. http://www.instapundit.com/
   2. http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/12/what_happens_after_the_surge.php
   3. http://www.brookings.edu/saban/~/media/Files/Centers/Saban/Iraq%20Index/index.pdf
   4. http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/sheik-twitty-al-ameriki.htm