lennart
09-11-03, 22:33
Woolsey Pushes Constitutional Monarchy for Iraq
MARC PERELMAN
FORWARD STAFF
Former CIA director James Woolsey and Princeton scholar Bernard Lewis penned an opinion article last week in The Wall Street Journal calling for the temporary re-adoption of the 1925 Iraqi constitution until a permanent constitution can be written.
The article proposed the reinstatement, with some amendments and on an interim basis, of a constitutional monarchy in which there would be an elected parliament and a king would appoint the prime minister.
While the piece did not specify any candidates for those positions, some observers saw the proposal as a backhanded strategy to advance two regional actors — former Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan and Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi — who are longtime favorites of neoconservative officials in the Bush administration.
Lewis and Woolsey wrote that the king "should be a Hashemite prince with political experience and no political obligations or commitments." Hassan, who was the crown prince until a few weeks before the death of his brother King Hussein, was touted as a possible ruler of Iraq by neoconservatives before the war and appeared at a meeting of the Iraqi opposition last spring.
Further, they wrote that the king would appoint the prime minister, who "should be a modern Shiite with a record of opposition to tyranny and oppression," a description that would seem to fit Chalabi.
Chalabi was convicted in absentia for bank fraud in Jordan, but sources said Prince Hassan nonetheless maintains close relations with him.
A person close to the debates over the shape of Iraq's future government said the Woolsey-Lewis proposal was possibly a way for Chalabi to gain more power in Iraq.
But Woolsey told the Forward that he and Lewis do not endorse any candidates.
He added that in his personal judgment, however, Prince Hassan and Chalabi "would be fine candidates."
Woolsey sits on the Defense Policy Board, a body that advises the Pentagon. Lewis, while he has generally steered clear of policymaking, is known to be a major intellectual influence on figures such as Vice President Dick Cheney.
The adoption of the 1925 constitution would run counter to American plans to promote democracy and retain overall authority until a constitution is adopted and elections held, said Noah Feldman, a New York University law professor who advised the U.S. administration in Iraq.
"I am surprised by their proposal because the United States is committed to democracy, and monarchy is not a good sign," Feldman told the Forward, adding that it was wrong to assume that a Hashemite monarch would be embraced by Iraqis. The Hashemite family ruled Iraq until 1958, when Feisal II was overthrown by a military coup.
http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.11.07/news3b.woolseyside.html
:wink:
MARC PERELMAN
FORWARD STAFF
Former CIA director James Woolsey and Princeton scholar Bernard Lewis penned an opinion article last week in The Wall Street Journal calling for the temporary re-adoption of the 1925 Iraqi constitution until a permanent constitution can be written.
The article proposed the reinstatement, with some amendments and on an interim basis, of a constitutional monarchy in which there would be an elected parliament and a king would appoint the prime minister.
While the piece did not specify any candidates for those positions, some observers saw the proposal as a backhanded strategy to advance two regional actors — former Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan and Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi — who are longtime favorites of neoconservative officials in the Bush administration.
Lewis and Woolsey wrote that the king "should be a Hashemite prince with political experience and no political obligations or commitments." Hassan, who was the crown prince until a few weeks before the death of his brother King Hussein, was touted as a possible ruler of Iraq by neoconservatives before the war and appeared at a meeting of the Iraqi opposition last spring.
Further, they wrote that the king would appoint the prime minister, who "should be a modern Shiite with a record of opposition to tyranny and oppression," a description that would seem to fit Chalabi.
Chalabi was convicted in absentia for bank fraud in Jordan, but sources said Prince Hassan nonetheless maintains close relations with him.
A person close to the debates over the shape of Iraq's future government said the Woolsey-Lewis proposal was possibly a way for Chalabi to gain more power in Iraq.
But Woolsey told the Forward that he and Lewis do not endorse any candidates.
He added that in his personal judgment, however, Prince Hassan and Chalabi "would be fine candidates."
Woolsey sits on the Defense Policy Board, a body that advises the Pentagon. Lewis, while he has generally steered clear of policymaking, is known to be a major intellectual influence on figures such as Vice President Dick Cheney.
The adoption of the 1925 constitution would run counter to American plans to promote democracy and retain overall authority until a constitution is adopted and elections held, said Noah Feldman, a New York University law professor who advised the U.S. administration in Iraq.
"I am surprised by their proposal because the United States is committed to democracy, and monarchy is not a good sign," Feldman told the Forward, adding that it was wrong to assume that a Hashemite monarch would be embraced by Iraqis. The Hashemite family ruled Iraq until 1958, when Feisal II was overthrown by a military coup.
http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.11.07/news3b.woolseyside.html
:wink: