June 21, 2004
The confected Iraqi government hasn't even taken power yet, which was supposed to part of the democratization process, and already it is talking about imposing martial law.
Dr. Iyad Allawi, the prime minister handpicked by the Iraqi Governing Council, which was handpicked by Washington, announced that he is considering imposing a state of emergency that would ban public demonstrations and allow for arrests without charges.
Dr. Allawi, by the way, has been on the CIA payroll for about fifteen years.
Convenient, yes.
Democratic, no.
And it's not just Dr. Allawi.
Falah al-Naqib, the new interior minister, said that "he won't hesitate to declare martial law" if the violence continues, The New York Times reported on June 18.
So this is what Bush's Iraq misadventure has come to.
He said we went into Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction.
There were none.
He said we went into Iraq because Saddam was an ally of Al Qaeda.
Saddam wasn't.
He said we went into Iraq to install democracy.
And now what we're helping to install is martial law.
That's some victory.