Iraqi parliament recommends rejection of U.N. resolution
Today's oxymoron: Iraqi Parliament
Being a member of the Iraqi Parliament has got to be one of the most pointless exercises imaginable. Does anyone actually think that the collective voice of what is nominally a representative body has ANY influence on that Great Arbiter Of Evil, Saddam Hussein? Do the members need jobs that badly? Or are they really that desperate for some face time on Iraqi TV?
As far as I can tell, the role of the Iraqi Parliament is to get their marching orders from Saddam, go on camera, act indignant at the foreign aggressors, and then vote in a bloc for whatever Saddam wants. Saddam could just save himself all that per diem money by simply governing by decree. Isn't that what is going on anyway? After all, this is the same man that got 99.9999943% of the popular vote in the recent Presidential election. The one person who voted against him was immediately shot, as was the write-in candidate that he voted for. Let THAT be a lesson to you....
No one with an ounce of sense would believe for a minute that Parliament is anything but a vehicle for rubber-stamping Saddam's policies. So what, then, is the point of the exercise? Of course, the members get some face time on Iraqi TV during their debates, but that doesn't always appear to be an even remotely enjoyable exercise. During debates, the members generally look as if they'd been promised a lap dance by Anna Nicole Smith, only to have Phyllis Schlafly show up. It's not exactly glamorous duty, and I imagine that the life expectancy of a sitting member is short. I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but there is no one in Parliament who looks as if he's going to last as long as Strom Thurmond- or even John Cornyn.
Of course, with all media firmly in the grasp of Saddam's minions, I suppose it is possible that your average Ahmad Q. Public thinks that Iraq is a representative democracy. Hey, they have an elected President, and a Parliament that debates issues and votes on them- JUST LIKE AMERICA!! Of course, members of Congress don't have to worry about being shot if they vote incorrectly, eh??
Maybe we've got it all wrong. Maybe the peace-loving Iraqi government and their baby-milk factories are just struggling to feed and nourish their impoverished population. Maybe that "nuclear weapons program" is just Saddam's way of trying to keep his people warm during those long, cold Iraqi winters. Maybe those aren't chemical weapons; perhaps it's just mosquito repellent. Maybe after 12 years of intransigence, he's finally seen the light of day and has turned to his Parliament for directions and new ideas.
Sure, and tonight's Ramadan feast will be pork tenderloin....
