Diplomatic recognition means little. There are many instances in history of States treating with “faux” governments as equals, esp. colonial governments.

As for the UN recognition as an indicator of legitimacy, the USSR had three seats: Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. The last 2 were of course diplomatic illusions.

Let’s look instead at reality. Governments have specific characteristics, the more of these they possess, the stronger. Just to hit the high points…

· Control of armed force
· The ability to levy and collect taxes
· An administrative mechanism to execute its policies
· Territory in which it is the dominant political entity.
· Control of borders
· Legitimacy (not love) in the eyes of its people

The “government” of Iraq has, by most reports, none of these.

“I am now prime minister and overall commander of the armed forces yet I cannot move a single company without Coalition approval…”
Nuri al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq, interview with Reuters on October 26, 2006

It lives on oil revenue and US funding.

The ministries are owned by ethnic and religious groups, parceled out as patronage.

The only territory it controls is the Green Zone.

Etc, etc.