Sour Grapes
Of course we're Fair and Balanced!

2004-06-29

Sovereignty



James Capozzola points to an interesting article on the concept of Sovereignty generally and how it applies (or doesn't) to Iraq specifically.




Stanford professor Stephen Krasner (who, by the way, served in the Bush National Security Council until 2002) wrote the definitive book on the subject, "Sovereignty." He refers to the whole notion of "supreme and independent political authority" (in Webster's definition) as "organized hypocrisy." Why? Because nations often interfere in the internal affairs of other nations, belying the notion of absolute control by a ruler within a territory....



Iraq's only distinction in all this is that the U.S. plans to grant it much less sovereignty than even weak nations have....




So much for George Bush's idea of the "full and complete sovereignty" granted1 to Iraq yesterday. I do, however, credit the Administration with having the smarts to realize how advantageous it would be to pull off the transfer — whatever its faults may be — two days early and unexpectedly. I think June 30 would have been a disaster, with lots of carnage.






1'Grant' is an mighty interesting word in and of itself in this context.



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