A New Dictator?
Proponents of the invasion and occupation of Iraq have stressed repeatedly that one of the great achievements was the creation of a free, democratic country. The selection of political leaders through fair elections and the establishment of a legal system that protected basic freedoms stood in stark contrast to Saddam Hussein’s brazen dictatorship. Indeed, the birth of a democratic Iraq was one of the few developments pro-war types could cite that made the sacrifice of more than 4,200 American lives and the expenditure of some $700 billion even arguably worthwhile.
Now even that achievement seems to be on increasingly shaky ground. The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is exhibiting disturbingly authoritarian behavior on multiple fronts. The most recent incident, on January 14, was the Independent High Electoral Commission’s decision to bar more than 500 candidates, representing 15 different parties, from running in the March 7 elections. That purge was even more far-reaching than the original recommendation by the parliamentary Justice and Accountability Commission to bar 439 candidates.
Harold
