This isn't a president, it's a baseball team:
Iraq Governing Council Opts for Rotating Presidency
Iraq's U.S.-appointed Governing Council agreed Tuesday that the presidency of the self-rule body would rotate among nine of its members, ending two weeks of heated discussion over who should be in charge ...Choosing a leader was supposed to be one of the first tasks of the Council, which held its first meeting on July 13 and is seen in Washington as a first step toward a democratic government in Iraq following the war to topple Saddam Hussein.
But members took more than two weeks to decide.
Maybe they should hold the inauguration ceremony at Yankee Stadium.
Announcer: Here's the pitch ... the swing ... and it's outta here! Chalabi gives up another home run.
Color commentator: It looks like Coach Wolfowitz has had enough, Chris. He's signalling to his bullpen ...
Now on the face of it, having a nine-person presidential rotation on a 25-member ruling council might seem a little ... redundant. Not to mention weak, confusing and indecisive, and a recipe for constant back-stabbing, in-fighting, second guessing and any other political cliche you care to insert.
But we should remember that other nations also have rotating presidencies -- Switzerland, for example. It would be deeply unfair, even racist, of me to suggest that the leaders of a cobbled together Middle Eastern country torn by decades of totalitarian rule, ethnic strife and religious tension can't come together and share power as peacefully and effectively as they do in one of Europe's most civilized countries.
Right?
Did the Bush administration get this idea from Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
DENNIS: I told you. We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.
ARTHUR: Yes.
DENNIS: But all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special biweekly meeting.
ARTHUR: Yes, I see.
DENNIS: By a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs,--
ARTHUR: Be quiet!
DENNIS: --but by a two-thirds majority in the case of more--
ARTHUR: Be quiet! I order you to be quiet!
WOMAN: Order, eh -- who does he think he is?
ARTHUR: I am your king!
WOMAN: Well, I didn't vote for you.
Actually, no...forget it. The Python scene actually makes more sense.
Billmon,
You forgot that the Swiss elect their leaders.
Remember that the depiction of the Arab government in Damascus in 1918 in "Lawrence of Arabia" is based on fact.
sgc
You forgot that the Swiss elect their leaders.
and they haven't been invaded since the middle ages. It does help in creating a stable society.
The innovation of the various Swiss factions was to mix ethnic strife and religious tension, douse the result in deep xenophobia, and turn it into a unifing principle. If it wasnt for the geographic confining pressure of France, Germany, Austria and Italy (all demonstrating the glories of the singular executive), Switzerland would have blown itself into bloody hunks of scenic Alp a long time ago.
"I hate those guys from Geneva/Lausanne/Bern/Zurich/Lugano - but I hate those Europeans more!"
I can't think of a better model for Iraq, actually - although there is that whole problem of Islam and banking...
Remember that the depiction of the Arab government in Damascus in 1918 in "Lawrence of Arabia" is based on fact.
Welllll, sort of.
Actually, it's funny you should mention that scene, because I happened to watch the last part of LOA just a couple of night ago. It's great cinema -- all those Bedouins shouting and cursing, drawing their swords, hurling insults at each other, and Peter O'Toole banging away on the table with the butt of his revolver.
Reality was quite a bit more prosaic, though. In the real 1918, Feisel and Lawrence arrived in Damascus after the British had already captured the place.
The Brits found a provisional council already in existence -- made up of local Ottoman notables, not Bedouin tribesman. All that stuff in LOA about the council not being able to run the power plant or keep the water running was pure fiction -- David Lean's or Lawrence's, I'm not sure which, since I haven't read The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
There was, however, quite a fracas over Feisal's claim to the "throne" of Syria. Lots of arguing over that -- also over Feisal's decision to accept France's claim to Lebanon. But he did form a government, which was able to rule Syria reasonably well (with British assistance) until the French finally booted him out a couple of years later.
You can find the whole story in David Fromkin's book, A Peace to End All Peace.
Why are they calling it Iraq's council? Nothing about this council has anything to do with the people of Iraq, so why not call it what it is; Mini-America. Here's an idea, why not let the people of Iraq vote on who they want to lead them? If it is so necessary that we have a say in the candidates, shouldn't they at least be able to have the final say? But that would interfere with our special interests and we can't have that, after all that is what we "fought" this "war" for, right? Not to liberate the Iraqi People, but to set up a "council" of merry-go-round idiots to completely f**k up the country even more, so in another 10 years we can go in and "liberate" again...is that three strikes yet?
Now, now, Kristen, we can't go leting them pick their OWN leader! They might choose an Islamic fundamentalist or someone who won't support our plans for the Middle East (or worse, who won't support Israel [gasp]), and that would just defeat the whole purpose of having takin out Saddam. There are much more important things at stake here than whether the Iraqis actually get to ELECT their "democratic" government. They'll be happy to take what we given them in due time. It'll all work out juuuuusssssst fine....
[Ok, dammit, I've got a headache now from having to try and think like that. I'll never get how someone can do that regularly!]
Bremer: Iraq vote possible in 1 year
... why not let the people of Iraq vote on who they want to lead them? If it is so necessary that we have a say in the candidates, shouldn't they at least be able to have the final say?
... but to set up a "council" of merry-go-round idiots to completely [mess] up the country even more
The Cubs tried this back in the 60s; even with Banks and Santo and Fergie Jenkins, it didn't help.