it’s not him again.

The American ambassador has told Shiite officials that President Bush does not want the Iraqi prime minister to remain the country’s leader in the next government, senior Shiite politicians said Tuesday.

In another resounding blow for democracy, the Bush administration has been trying to tell the Iraqis who they are allowed to choose as their leader. If it wasn’t for the simple fact that hundreds of people are dying in Iraq almost every day due to American-led coalition action over the past few years then this would be funny. The American government has said that they believe that Iraq needs ‘a government of national unity with strong leadership that can unify all Iraqis.’ In other words, they need a charismatic dictator that the Americans approve of.

Yes, Saddam Hussein is a loony, yes, he needed to have his wings clipped, but the history of the area suggests that it needs an authoritarian regieme to prevent civil war. Iraq was made through the decision of Europeans to unite opposing areas into one country eighty-ish years ago, and now it’s ripping itself apart again because the only glue remaining was a despot.

To say that I find all this a bit frustrating is an understatement.

Source.