After years of railing against democracy in America, the Bush Administration now is running up against the inconvenience of democracy in Iraq:

Reaching out to the Sunni Arab community, Iraqi leaders called for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces and said Iraq's opposition had a "legitimate right" of resistance.

The communique _ finalized by Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni leaders Monday _ condemned terrorism but was a clear acknowledgment of the Sunni position that insurgents should not be labeled as terrorists if their operations do not target innocent civilians or institutions designed to provide for the welfare of Iraqi citizens.

In other words: Attacking US troops and Iraqi military forces are to be considered legitimate.

I can see Bush shouting at staffers while Cheney scrambles to find out what happened to their puppet strings that were supposed to keep Iraqi leaders toeing the BushCo PR campaign.

On Monday, Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr suggested U.S.-led forces should be able to leave Iraq by the end of next year, saying the one-year extension of the mandate for the multinational force in Iraq by the U.N. Security Council this month could be the last.

Not content to stop there, the Iraqis also issued a smack-down call to release political prisoners and end the torture.

In Egypt, the final communique's attempt to define terrorism omitted any reference to attacks against U.S. or Iraqi forces. Delegates from across the political and religious spectrum said the omission was intentional. They spoke anonymously, saying they feared retribution.

"Though resistance is a legitimate right for all people, terrorism does not represent resistance. Therefore, we condemn terrorism and acts of violence, killing and kidnapping targeting Iraqi citizens and humanitarian, civil, government institutions, national resources and houses of worships," the document said.

The final communique also stressed participants' commitment to Iraq's unity and called for the release of all "innocent detainees" who have not been convicted by courts. It asked that allegations of torture against prisoners be investigated and those responsible be held accountable.

See, that's the "problem" with pretending to spread democracy, Mr. Bush: The people tend to embrace the ideas, and take action accordingly. How ironic that the Bush Administration's disregard for international law and the Geneva Convention may lead to Iraq's holding America's feet to the fire.

We are going to be paying big time and for a long long time for all the fuck-ups -- done by malicious design or utter incompetence -- perpetrated by the present administration.

I remember when, right after 9/11, the entire world was with us, united against the extremist fanatics who committed such an appalling crime against humanity. Now I see a world that does not trust the US.

Who's responsible for that? Where does the buck stop now?

About author

media girl also blogs at other places.