Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone (83-208)

Summary:

The protestors were taking over. People with AK-47’s carjacked vehicles in busy intersections and a lot of businessman’s were taken hostage until their families paid money for them. The Iraqi police forces wouldn’t go to work because the criminals had AK-47’s and they only had pistols. The White House only sent only one person to take care of all the problems in Iraq, Bernard Kerik. Soldier wanted to take his autograph, and the ones who had cameras wanted to take pictures with him. He didn’t plan in staying in Iraq for more than six months. The first thing that Kerik did was give a couple of interviews saying that things were improving. A lot of people were questioning Kerik’s actions, and that’s why he left.  When Jerry Bremer came back to Baghdad from his meetings in the White House and in the Pentagon he had a plan. The first step was done. It was to form a governing council. The second step was to establish a preparatory committee to determine how a constitution should be written. The third step was the Governing Council’s assumption of more day to day governing tasks. The fourth step was to write a constitution. This was where the plan had stopped. The Iraqi Council members told Bremer that what prevented them from moving forward was the idea that Iraqi’s needed more responsibilities. Iraq couldn’t be governed if Iraqi’s don’t get more responsibilities. Later Bremer realized that his seven step plan was dead. Bremer now had another plan. The first two sections went smoothly but when Bremer got to the formation of the interim government and the complicated method of selecting who could participate in the caucuses, the political chief of the country’s largest Shiite party objected. He said that this would split the people. Bremer decided to call a vote. Twenty people supported the plan and three people opposed it. This is what the Iraqi’s had been waiting for.

Quotes:

“Instead of dwelling on the big picture, Kerik focused on one Iraqi, Ahmed Kadhim Ibrahim.”

Response:

When I read the quote I thought to myself, if Kerik was sent in Iraq to stop the violence, then why is he not focusing on doing so? Also, why was he the only person sent to stop the violence when obviously more people were needed? I’m kind of confused, because I’m not sure if the U.S is trying to help Iraq or have Iraq under their control.