Iraq fails democracy test

[Robbien]

Source: Daily Telegraph

IN an embarrassing setback for US efforts to support the embattled government in Baghdad, an international panel charged with selecting countries to attend a prestigious meeting of the world's democracies has deemed Iraq unfit to attend.

Four years after US-led troops toppled Saddam Hussein with the stated goal of creating a haven of democracy in the Middle East, the blue ribbon committee said Iraq did not meet the criteria to attend the November meeting of the Community of Democracies.

. . .

Iraq should be kept from the next meeting due to its "continuing inability to establish an accountable state,"while Afghanistan was downgraded to observer status, according to the committee's coordinator, Ted Piccone, executive director of the Washington-based Democracy Coalition Project.

Russia was also dropped from the invitation list as the committee deemed there had been an "erosion of rights"under President Vladimir Putin. Thailand and Fiji were also dropped following military takeovers last year, while the "democratic credentials"of Bahrain, East Timor and Armenia were called into question.

. . .

The Convening Group, which includes the United States, was expected to follow most of the committee's suggestions even though the initial response from State Department officials was displeasure over the treatment of its two client states.

"They were not happy with the positions the committee took on Iraq and Afghanistan," Mr Piccone said.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21555267-5001028,00.html

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21555267-5001028,00.html

[54anickel]

1. Hell, the USA doesn't meet the criteria anymore - "accountable state"? Yeah, right.

The State Department's response was "displeasure". They ought to feel like the miserable failures they are.
Displeasure.....Not happy......How the hell do they think the Iraqis feel?

[txaslftist]

2. We actually probably don't.

Our decider can imprison anyone for a short life of torture without stating a reason and without permitting access to a lawyer simply by declaring him an enemy combatant.

Even kings didn't used to be able to do that.

We live in a decidership, not a democracy.

[Solly Mack]

3. What liars. If the US can attend the standards for inclusion

aren't exactly high.

[LiberalFighter]

4. They should had rigged the panel and filled the panel with US reps