Editorial: Nouri's Iraq: Not falling apart is 'success'

Nouri al-Maliki is prime minister and thug of Iraq.  And his thuggery was asked of last week, repeatedly, in a Senate hearing.     The Senate Foreign Relations Committee met to question US President Barack Obama's nominee for Ambassador to Iraq (Robert S. Beecroft, who was confirmed on Saturday).  In his opening remarks, Committee Chair John Kerry noted, "Questions remain about whether Iraqi leaders -- including the prime minister -- aspire to represent a unified Iraq in all of its diversity or rather they seek to govern narrowly according to ethnic and sectarian tendencies."  It only got worse for Thug Nouri.   Chair Kerry was noting in questioning, "Increasingly, we are hearing more anecdotal and other reports about the increased authoritarianism of the Maliki government and of the political system itself perhaps becoming less diplomatic and so forth."   Others repeatedly echoed those statements including Senator Bob Casey, "And, in particular, there's a concern -- or maybe an allegation, that might be too strong of a word -- that Prime Minister Maliki is becoming more and more authoritarian."   Yet search in vain for the reports in the US press that noted this concern or that it was repeatedly raised.   In fact, search in vain for the biggest news on Iraq of the week.   How does the US measure 'progress' and 'success' in Iraq now?   Robert Beecroft was confirmed on Saturday so clearly the Senate approved of his call on Wednesday when he told the Committee, "But, again, I'd like to reiterate that the encouraging thing is that Iraq has not fallen apart, that it has held together."   How the hopes and promises have fallen.  The American people are now supposed to be happy with an illegal war that's big accomplishment has been: Iraq has not fallen apart.   The "yet" was, as always, left unstated.     --------------------   What the US press couldn't or wouldn't cover above was noted and reported on in the Iraq snapshots last week:       Iraq snapshot Iraq snapshot Iraq snapshot Iraq snapshot Iraq snapshot