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BREMER GETS BEHIND AN IRAQI CONSTITUTION

Bremer reverses gears, aggressively moves forward on the idea of an Iraqi Constitution. A deft reversal on his part.

THE PENTAGON CRACKS DOWN

On American troops who spoke out.

I realize that technically, ( and for reasons that make America different than Bolivia and Paraguay) uniformed service personnel are not permitted to make certain types of statements critical of the President of the United States or other government officials. I also realize that institutionally, there has always been ” payback ” given out by the brass to soldiers who dared to bring unfavorable press attention or an angry member of Congress to what the Pentagon considers mere ” military matters “. I also realize that now that the embeded press corps in Iraq has been whittled down from 700 more politically representative reporters to about a dozen-plus, reflexively negative and anti-Bush senior foreign correspondents who set out to write this story with the spin it recieved. That being said, the bureaucratic retaliation against a handful of outspoken soldiers with typical and very legitimate gripes is not merely petty and vindictive. It is not merely dumb. It is a stridently dumb action on a variety of levels.

The political message sent by this action could not be more counterproductive had it been scripted by the Bush administration’s antiwar political opponents. Institutionally, the Pentagon brass are sending the message to soldiers and airmen that the bearers of bad news – bad news that policy makers might need to prevent an irretrievable disaster in the making – will be punished severely. Those with the most information about local conditions in Iraq are going to simply shut their mouths and keep their heads down.

Part of the responsibility of leadership at times is to accept even ungracious criticism with stoicism, particularly when the critics have a point.

SAUDI ARABIA CRACKS DOWN

From Arnaud DeBorchgrave

The recent bombing in Saudi Arabia badly shook the regime because it was directed at one of the pillars of the House of Saud’s power and legitimacy, the loyalty of the tribes. The tribes are heavily represented in the Saudi National Guard, once headed by Crown Prince Abdullah and generally regarded as his original power base. Abdullah, by the way, while like the other senior princes is a son of the legendary King Abdul Aziz, Saudi Arabia’s founder, is on his mother’s side an al-Rasheedi. The Rasheeds, like the Sherifs of Mecca who now rule in Jordan, were rivals to the House of Saud for control of the Arabian peninsula. Instead of destroying the Rasheeds upon their defeat, Abdul Aziz magnaminously amalgamated them with honor ( albeit in a junior position) into the ruling family and took a Rasheedi wife. An action that set the tone of the future relationship between the ruling House of Saud and the subordinate chieftains. That al Qaida has made inroads both operationally and ideologically into this once secure bastion of the Saudi regime has caused the normally lethargic and willfully blind ( as far as Islamists go) Saudi security apparatus to spring into action.

The princes may realize that their heads too are on the chopping block

VERY INTERESTING POSTS BY JUAN COLE TODAY

On Sadr bullying of Iraqi Sunnis and a poll of Baghdad residents – 9 % prefer Saddam, 50 % think the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq was justified, 75 % think the city is more dangerous today

AL QAIDA AND HEZBOLLAH IN SOUTH AMERICAN BORDERLANDS

A CNN Link via Winds of Change