How can PM Nouri al Maliki succeed?
No secret, Iraq is in turmoil. Chaos reigns in most cities. And the government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is not popular among the masses.
If Iraq is to succeed in quelling violence, reigning in the militias and foreign terrorists, as well as the insurgents, something obviously needs to be done differently than it's being done now.
The US Military canNOT stabilize Iraq by itself. There are many factors in play for true stabilization - chiefly, the people of Iraq and, more importantly, the Iraq government, led by its Prime Minister.
As an American, I am willing to put our sons and daughters in harm's way to protect the people of Iraq from militias and terrorists, foreign regimes, etc - because I believe the people of Iraq deserve that protection.
However, I am adamantly opposed to our sons and daughters dying in Iraq if Iraq's central governing body isn't willing to take the steps that need taken to decrease the risks to not only Americans, but Iraqi citizens.
So what can PM al Maliki and his government do?
Here are my ideas:
1. Don't even consider a vacation. Governments in crisis do not have the luxury of a vacation (until your people have the luxury of being able to walk down the street to the market without fear of death, the government has no business sitting around a pool sipping iced tea). You want to rotate 3 or 4 day leaves so there is always representation in the government and everyone can get a bit of a rest, no problem, but a governmental shutdown, while Americans and Iraqis are being murdered, should be out of the question.
In other words - get the country fixed, then everyone can take a much needed vacation. But when your people, and my people, are dying, ending the crisis is the first priority. Period.
2. Help YOUR people. "Your people" means EVERY Iraqi, regardless of race or religion. How can al Maliki help his people?
A. Get these people food. It's not like going to the market is an easy thing to do, and every time someone visits a market, their life is hanging in the balance. Take basic necessities - flour, sugar, beans, cheese, eggs and clean water for drinking and cooking - in supply trucks to each neighborhood each week, and hand it out to each household. This is not something that should last forever, but at least until the people can go to the markets safely.
B. Get the electric working. There are enough able bodied men capable of helping to get the electrical services working - and use your armed forces to protect the workers (if you cannot trust your armed forces just yet, then put coalition troops out there to protect these men). Your people need electric for cooking, lighting, air conditioning, heating, etc. If they have to be house bound, then at least help make it bearable. And once the electric is working, put people who live in these neighborhoods in charge of protecting the lines.
C. Get the water lines working - use these able bodied Iraqi men, protected by government forces or coalition forces. Your people need clean, safe drinking water.
D. Trash collection - trash is a health hazard. Iraqis need to clean up their neighborhoods, send trucks run by gov't troops or police into neighborhoods once a week, and have everyone pitch in in loading the garbage onto the trucks, which can then be taken to the dumps.
E. Invest in your people - hire those without jobs to do the work listed above. Giving these people productive work to do and a paycheck so they can support their families will not only help these families, but will boost the economy and spur growth. Gradually, with people earning a living, there will be less need for gov't supplied food ("A" above).
F. Make education a priority - kick the militias and other non-government groups out of the universities and schools. Set up guard units in school houses and on college campuses to protect the students so there are no more bombs or kidnappings from the schools. Give these kids a safe learning environment, and some reprieve from the violence.
All of the ideas above (A-F) would take some effort, but it would greatly increase the quality of life for the people of Iraq, thus providing them with some hope that the al Maliki gov't cares about the people, and can get the job done. If people believe in their government, they will support their government, and frankly, al Maliki et al need all the support they can get.
If you need help on any of these projects, there are lots of humanitarian groups, and even entire countries, who'd be willing to help, if they saw that the government was serious about helping its people.
3. Protect Iraqi Oil. Obviously, after years and years of being ignored, Iraq's oil machine needs investment from various oil companies. This is NOT a bad thing - investment creates jobs, the ability to produce more oil, and gets money flowing through the economy. However, be smart where your oil profits are concerned.
While I don't know all the ins and outs of the oil industry, there's got to be some way to assure that those taking the risk of investment receive a fair return, and the Iraqi people get a fair return (without any of the local or federal gov't leaders skimming from the top).
And, of course, if someone's going to invest in Iraq's oil, then they need the assurance of a contract with a long enough term that they can recoup their investment and make a profit that justifies the enormous investment they are going to have to make.
You can work on the net - of course, the books have to be transparent. If you work on the net, take out all costs of repairs, labor, and other legit expenses, and then split the net profits between the Iraqi people and the investors. I would be inclined to think 40% investors, 20% government projects (reinvestment into the country), 40% people. Or something like that.
Working off the gross would be more difficult - and I have no idea how to break that down, because I have no idea of the potential gross vs the costs of repair, labor, etc. However, if the gross is used, then it has to be fair to both the investor and the people, and a certain amount of flexibility should be in order, so that if the investors find their expenses higher than what they figured, they can get a somewhat larger % of the gross, OR if their profits are a certain percentage higher than what they calculated, the percentage going to the people can be adjusted somewhat.
I'm not sure why this is so difficult - at the end of the day, it's a business deal. Business is business. Both sides have to be smart, and if both sides want it to work, both sides have to be honest, because in the long run, both parties - the investors and the people - need to be able to depend on each other for the best possible outcome.
4. Break all ties to any religious group. Your only responsibility is to ALL your people. Right now, this government does not have the luxury of picking and choosing whom they favor (actually, no government should EVER favor any particular group!). Begin to develop political parties based on ideals, not religion. And when you make decisions based only on ideals and what is in the best interests of the majority of the people, you'll get a majority of the people supporting you.
5. Don't just talk about Democracy - live it. If this government decides to be a legitimate goverment (ie: works for the people, not their individual careers and power aspirations), it's going to make some enemies, because the government will no longer be catering to certain sectarian groups. But when all is said and done, making enemies of these groups is the trade off for making loyal citizens of 100 times as many Iraqis.
Enforce the rule of law for ALL citizens - do not make exceptions for your buddies or those willing to do special favors for you on the side.
Yes, you guessed it, I'm suggesting the al Maliki and his government cut ties with Muqtada al Sadr and his militia, and any other vigilante group. When you protect Muqtada and his ilk, you let every Sunni, Christian and moderate Shiite know that you have no intention of protecting them. When you take your orders from an uneducated, murderous, control freak, you look weak and incapable of running Iraq. When you work for one against the rest, you are unworthy of leading Iraq.
If the government would outlaw al Sadr and other groups like his, and seriously start rounding them up and arresting them, punishing them for their kidnappings and murders, your people would feel safer, more loyal, and might even vote you in to a 2nd term.
As long as criminals like al Sadr call the shots with this goverment, and as long as this government fears criminals and lets them call the shots, it will be ineffective - a failure. And everyone in this government will go down in Iraq's history as weak and incapable of governing.
Every person entrusted with running this government needs to make a commitment to being SECULAR.
It's the only way you can represent all your people.
It's the only way you can save Iraq.
Part of me believes Nouri al Maliki and the rest of the government - at least most of them - truly do want the best for Iraq. But everyone in this government needs to realize that they need to work together for the people of Iraq, and start doing that NOW. Every Iraqi is equal, no matter his religion or race.
Criminals, murderers, kidnappers, and other undesirables need to be hunted down, arrested, tried, convicted and punished for their crimes - even if they belong to your sect, whether you're Shia or Sunni. Remember, a criminal is a criminal, and since these militias are acting in accordance with Satan's laws rather than God's laws, no matter what they call themselves, they don't have a religious leg to stand on anyway.
And if al Maliki's government is too weak or frightened to take the steps necessary to rid Iraq of the militias and brigades and terrorists, then either step down and let stronger Iraqis do the job, or at least quit interfering when the Americans raid the militias' hideouts or the terrorists' dens of iniquity - for the love of God, let SOMEONE protect the innocent people who need protection.
It's time for Iraq's government to get a backbone and regain their honor and integrity.
It's time for Nouri al Maliki and his government to climb out of Iran's pocket, dust al Sadr and his kind off the soles of their shoes, and defend the people of Iraq.
And if the Iraq government - Shia, Sunni, or Kurd - refuses to let go of all the religious ties that prevent them from working for ALL Iraqis, then the next time Iraqis go to the polls, it's time to elect secular politians who don't care what religious sect you belong to - because those are the men and women who are going to work for YOU.
