The
New Baghdad Triumvirate:
Allawi, Negroponte and
the NED Bush's Democratic Charade in Iraq
In
Iraq the triumvirate of Allawi, Negroponte and the Endowment may flounder
on the shoals of an empire that is overstretched and traumatized by its
hubris. Since Bush spoke before the Endowment on its Twentieth
anniversary, the Iraqi insurgency has put down deep roots...It is unclear
what type of government will eventually emerge, but it will be determined
more by the struggle of the resistance and the popular movements from
below than by the imperial designs of John Negroponte and George W. Bush.
By
JIM TARBELL and ROGER BURBACH
Counterpunch
Posted by Bulatlat
In
November 2003, with US soldiers facing mounting casualties and the search
for weapons of mass destruction largely abandoned, George W. Bush appeared
before the National Endowment for Democracy, a quasi-public institution
set up to advance US political objectives abroad. There, on the
Endowment's Twentieth anniversary, Bush proclaimed a new rationale for the
occupation of Iraq-"To build a democracy," a democracy that
"will send forth the news from Damascus to Tehran."
Now
seven months later with the formation of the Iraqi Interim Government and
the opening of the largest US embassy compound in the world, it has become
apparent just what kind of democracy the United States is foisting on Iraq
and the Arab world. It will be a democracy with controlled elections, a
repressive state security apparatus, and a "free market" economy
that favors US interests and the Iraqi economic elite. The two key figures
anointed to carry out this democratic charade are the leader of the
interim government, Iyad Allawi and the US ambassador, John Negroponte.
Their backgrounds and credentials can hardly be described as democratic.
Much
has been made in recent days of the alleged friction between the United
States and the Iraqi Interim Government. This is largely staged-an effort
to give the impression to Iraqis and the world that the new government has
some legitimacy. Iyad Allawi, while publicly pushing for more autonomy, is
closely aligned with the United States, and has been on the CIA payroll
for years. He confirmed his dependence on the US agenda and the occupation
army when upon being nominated as Prime Minister he proclaimed: "We
need the support of the multinational forces."
With
the aid of the British and American intelligence services, Allawi founded
the Iraqi National Accord in 1990, an exile group comprised largely of
Baathist and military officers who defected from Saddam. Clinton and the
CIA provided extensive support to the Accord and its failed attempts to
carry out a palace coup by military officers close to Saddam. As the Bush
administration ramped up for war in the summer of 2002, Allawi took part
in high level Pentagon and State Department planning. Allawi finally
returned to Iraq with the invading US army after living abroad for more
than thirty years.
As
a reward for his collaboration, J. Paul Bremer appointed Allawi to the
Iraqi Governing Council. There he focused on running the Council's
Security Committee, which was responsible for building up the new Iraqi
army, police and intelligence services. The New York Times quotes one
observer as saying "Iyad is somebody who is military-minded, wants a
strong government, and believes in a strong army." Mary Curtis of the
Los Angeles Times adds: "To those who want to build a democratic
future on Iraq's authoritarian past, Allawi's record may be
worrisome."
Like
his American sponsors, Allawi is committed to a neo-liberal market
economy. The Iraqi National Accord promotes "giving permission to the
private sector to participate in all economic activities and giving
permission to the free market to specify the direction of those economic
activities." Allawi and the Interim Government will operate under
economic guidelines put in place by the Coalition Provisional Authority
and the Iraqi Governing Council. Decrees for the privatization of all
sectors of the economy remain in effect, as well as the opening of the
economy to foreign investment. Members of independent regulatory bodies
appointed by J. Paul Bremer cannot be removed by the new ministers of the
Interim Government.
Allawi
himself comes from the Shiite merchant class of Iraq that would be among
the primary beneficiaries of the US imposed economic order. The Washington
Post points out that "with their links to the bazaars of Persia, the
prominent Shiite families were often far wealthier and more cultivated
than the Sunnis" who predominated under Saddam's rule. Allawi has
wasted no time in taking advantage of the new economic conditions. During
his tenure on the Iraqi Governing Council, rumors abounded of corruption
and influence peddling, including accusations that he collected
"commissions" to deliver government contracts.
Allawi's
powerful overseer in Baghdad, US Ambassador designate John Negroponte, has
been on the cutting edge in preserving and advancing the interests of the
US empire for years. From 1971 to 1973 Negroponte served as the officer in
charge of Vietnam on the National Security Council. In the 1980s he became
the US ambassador in the pivotal Central American country of Honduras as
the United States masterminded wars against a popular democracy in
Nicaragua to the south and against a popular liberation movement in El
Salvador to the west. From his embassy post in Tegucigalpa Negroponte
first became known as the imperial "proconsul," a title he
carries with him to Baghdad. In Honduras he managed the largest CIA
station in the world and oversaw an increase in Honduran military aid from
$3.9 million annually to $77.4 million. He supervised the construction of
military bases and the transfer of resources to the US financed surrogate
army fighting the Nicaraguan government. And, befitting the role he will
play in Baghdad, he turned a blind eye to the torture and abuse performed
by Honduran death squads that disappeared critics of America's wars in
Central America.
The
Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a Washington based research and
information center, says that John Negroponte "is preeminently an
ends-justifies-the-means operator." Journalist Toni Solo has called
him "the Teflon torture manager." As US Ambassador to the United
Nations under Bush, he faithfully strong-armed nations into supporting
America's preemptive war in Iraq and oversaw an intelligence operation
that included bugging the phones of allies and adversaries alike.
The
new US embassy in Baghdad, constructed on the site of one of Saddam's
palaces, will have a staff of 1500 Americans and an equal number of
Iraqis. It will be protected by US soldiers as well as private contractors
with over 100 armored vehicles. Inside the walls of the embassy compound,
the strategy of the occupation forces will be plotted along with the
construction of fourteen US military bases around the country. Embassy
personnel will work throughout all 32 ministries of the Interim
Government, with one key adviser serving as the counterpart to every
minister. Special attention will be paid to the Oil Ministry which will be
headed by Thamir Ghadhan who was originally appointed to the same post by
the United States in May 2003. In that position he worked closely with an
advisory committee lead by a former head of Shell Oil.
While
Negroponte's embassy is managing the military and oil aspects of the Iraqi
situation, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is orchestrating the
"democratic" operation. But democracy at the NED is by no means
a popular democracy with broad participation. Instead NED promotes a
top-down, controlled democracy in which the elites govern and the popular
classes are only given token participation at election time. Meanwhile
private economic power reigns supreme.
The
National Endowment for Democracy grew out of the post-Vietnam-era need to
attain US national interests without depending solely on coercive military
force. At a time when the CIA had been embarrassed by intervening in
foreign elections, the NED was developed as a quasi-private institution to
carry out interventionist political policies beyond congressional
inspection. NED's chairman of the board is neoconservative Vin Webber. He
signed the statement of principles for the Project for the New American
Century (PNAC) which has promoted an American takeover of Iraq since 1997.
The hubris of PNAC, which centers around a flawed concept of American
exceptionalism, drives NED policies installing US-friendly, controlled
democracies around the world.
Soon
after 9/11 the National Endowment for Democracy jumped into the campaign
to open the door to corporate globalization for that long swath from
Morocco to China that encompasses Iraq and the Middle East. In January
2002 NED "placed urgent and increased emphasis on programs in the
entire Muslim world." In his 2004 state of the Union address George
W. Bush called for the doubling of NED's budget, from $40 million to $80
million, with virtually all of the new funding going to the Middle East
and Iraq in particular. Even before Bush's speech, the NED was already
funding and setting up pro-US Iraqi organizations involved in polling, the
media, civic education, and political party building.
Critics
like the Center for Media and Democracy point out that NED promotes
candidates that favor US interests "with strong ties to the military
and who support the rights of US corporations to invest in those
countries." NED involvement in funding pro-American politicians and
destabilizing democratic governments in both Haiti and Venezuela in recent
years confirms that analysis.
However,
in Iraq the triumvirate of Allawi, Negroponte and the Endowment may
flounder on the shoals of an empire that is overstretched and traumatized
by its hubris. Since Bush spoke before the Endowment on its Twentieth
anniversary, the Iraqi insurgency has put down deep roots. The very
occupation of their country is leading Shiites and Sunni's to collaborate
in unprecedented ways. It is unclear what type of government will
eventually emerge, but it will be determined more by the struggle of the
resistance and the popular movements from below than by the imperial
designs of John Negroponte and George W. Bush. Posted by Bulatlat
Jim
Tarbell and Roger Burbach co-wrote Imperial Overstretch: George W. Bush
and the Hubris of Empire, due out in the US on July 1, 2004. To order see:
http://www.globalalternatives.org
June
9, 2004
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