Word: bremer
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...nominated Dr. Ibrahim al-Jaafari as prime minister, won 140 of the 275 seats in the Assembly, giving it the simple majority required to pass legislation, but not the two-thirds required under the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), the interim constitution bequeathed by former U.S. administrator J. Paul Bremer, to choose a government. That means the Shiites have to negotiate a deal with the parties that will give them the votes required to create a government. And that requirement has made kingmakers of the Kurds - 3 million out of Iraq's 27 million people - and given them an unprecedented opportunity...
...Bremer constitution was designed to dilute and disperse the power of the majority Shiites, but in the process it considerably amplified the power of the Kurdish minority. That threatens national stability; by parlaying their kingmaker role into a series of autonomy guarantees to be written down even before the new parliament has convened, the risk of breakdown in the system grows. Conceding to Kurdish demands on Kirkuk, for example, will further alienate the Sunni population of northern Iraq. Also, if the peshmerga are maintained on the terms demanded by the Kurdish leaders, it will inevitably be more difficult to persuade...
...Vice President in Iraq's interim government, his patrician bearing seems more suited to studying philosophy than engaging in the dirty, dangerous business of Iraqi politics. In a world of tough-guy posturing, al-Jaafari doesn't hide his sensitive side: he bonded with former U.S. proconsul Paul Bremer over their mutual passion for gourmet cuisine...
...crucial respects, the occupation took the outcome out of the hands of ordinary Iraqis from the get-go: the lack of civilian control of the military, America’s appointment of key officials in government ministries, the preemptive decrees made by Paul Bremer last year mandating the privatization of Iraqi industries...
...rules of the game give Allawi openings to maneuver for power even if his opponents win a clear majority of the vote and the seats in the National Assembly. But Shiite leaders - none more so than Grand Ayatollah Sistani himself - have long questioned some of the provisions of Bremer's transitional constitution, the TAL, and the right of Americans to set the rules for Iraqi democracy. Sistani aide Ahmad al-Safi reiterated this week in an interview with al-Diyar television that many Shiites believe the TAL is "unfair" and "does not have legitimacy, especially since it was not adopted...