MaxedOutMama
Monday, January 31, 2005
EU Promises Assistance To Iraq
Monday Javier Solana, the Foreign Affairs Chief for the EU, congratulated Iraqis and said that they could count on EU support and financial assistance. He said the European countries would help with drafting the new constitution and training police as well:
I am still puzzling over what Kerry could have possibly meant by this (emphasis added below):
But what did Kerry mean about "a legitimate political reconciliation"? Did he mean that the Sunnis had to come into the government? By saying it required a massive diplomatic effort and a much more significant outreach to the international community, he seemed to be implying the problem was international. Well, guess what. If there is a government in Iraq of any sort, the EU is going to accept it. Did he mean Turkey? Because that's a problem of a different sort.
Anyway, this is the first step of many, but it shows that the Iraqi people is willing and eager to engage in the process.
"That is the only problem of a good day that was yesterday," he said. "Everybody will do the utmost so Sunnis participate in the writing of the constitution."Exactly. More of the Iraqi people voted than often vote in EU referendums in various European countries, so they can hardly criticize on turnout. Too bad Kerry couldn't have conceded the same thing.
Solana congratulated "the Iraqi people, who have shown the courage to go to vote in good numbers under circumstances which were very difficult."
"That shows very clearly the will of the Iraqi people to move the country forward in peace and through democratic means," he said. "That's very good news."
I am still puzzling over what Kerry could have possibly meant by this (emphasis added below):
No one in the United States should try to overhype this election. This election is a sort of demarcation point, and what really counts now is the effort to have a legitimate political reconciliation, and it's going to take a massive diplomatic effort and a much more significant outreach to the international community than this administration has been willing to engage in. Absent that, we will not be successful in Iraq.First, the real significance of the "demarcation point" is that the Iraqis are beginning to take their future into their own hands. So it's no longer a "we will be successful in Iraq", but whether they will be successful. If they are, we will be able to withdraw. It's pretty clear from yesterday that a majority of the people want sovereignty and a peaceful legal process. Without their determination, we would be stuck in a quagmire.
But what did Kerry mean about "a legitimate political reconciliation"? Did he mean that the Sunnis had to come into the government? By saying it required a massive diplomatic effort and a much more significant outreach to the international community, he seemed to be implying the problem was international. Well, guess what. If there is a government in Iraq of any sort, the EU is going to accept it. Did he mean Turkey? Because that's a problem of a different sort.
Anyway, this is the first step of many, but it shows that the Iraqi people is willing and eager to engage in the process.
