Restoration farce? posted by Richard Seymour

According to Iraqi Democrats Against the Occupation , a leaked document written by General Al-Hamadani ("overall coordinator for security matters" for Iyad Allawi) recommends a full restoration of the Baath party. They have a scanned copy of the document here . IDAO comments:

While advocating caution to stem "international opposition" to such move, General Al-Hamadani nevertheless supports the return of leading Baathist to government and cites measures to ensure that "those belonging to other parties are excluded from military and security institutions", in effect advocating a dictatorship in Iraq.

They go on to add that with the threat of civil war after the demonstration election tomorrow, there is a need for those Iraqis interested both in democracy and an end to the occupation to unite around a common programme and prevent any attempt at a return to dictatorship.

Elsewhere , they provide an assessment of the elections from the left-wing Baghdad newspaper Al-Ghad:

[A]fter the destruction of Falluja, and before it Najaf and other Iraqi towns, it is now clear that the promised 'elections' in Iraq became a cover for the execution of a military plan aimed at consolidating the occupation and diverting world public opinion from the destruction and shedding of innocent blood. At the same time, preparations for an international conference in Egypt are under way, to legitimise the end results wanted by Washington's with its current massacres, and for deciding the destiny of Iraq in the absence of the legitimate representatives of the Iraqi people.

They then go on to outline procedures for genuinely free and democratic elections:

First- Announce a timetable for ending the occupation and withdrawal of foreign troops completely from all areas of Iraq, with support of the Security Council.

Second- Conduct the elections under international supervision decided by the UN with personalities well known for its credibility and respect by the world peoples.

Third- Agree, as much as possible, on a fair system for proportional representation for all sectors of Iraqi society.

Fourth- Representatives of the main sectors of Iraqi society to announce its rejection of the campaigns of destruction and killing of Iraqi towns conducted by US forces, and also condemn the terrible crimes and mutilations perpetrated by suspect cliques that damage the reputation of the Iraqi people and the legitimate patriotic resistance and provide great services for the occupiers, helping them in justifying the occupation.

Now, if a small group of left-wingers in Baghdad can make the disctinction between the genuine resistance and the barbaric lunatics who make such gruesome theatre for Western audiences, how come so few Western liberals can manage that?