The Iraqi Elections: an Important Watershed

#4 by amrita on February 6, 2005 9:45am PT

This is chowk...populated by residents(or former residents) of the land of the pure, the sole upholders of Islam...

Before the current war when thousands died there, most Pakis didn`t know abu ghraib from a calem in the desert....now they know the name of all the people who were dragged on a leash by trailer-park Lynndie..

funny how that works....

as much as I am against this unnecessary war, only good can come out of this for the Iraqis...

Congratulations to the Bush team on conducting elections successfully. Seems like although the religious shia parties would get the majority, secular parties have done well too. Now only if some democracy can be brought to Saudi.

A democratic election is always a wonderful thing. Only an idiot or the most rabid America hater would grudge the Iraqis their moment in the suffragette sun after the blood price they have paid.

But see, here’s the thing. The election is hardly over and already people have problems with the eventual result. It’s like everyone forgets that the point of a democratic and fair election is that the will of the majority of the people will be represented at the parliamentary level. Outsiders don’t have to like it. America doesn’t have to like it. Jordan doesn’t have to like it. Sunni Iraqis don’t have to like it. Secular Iraqis don’t have to like it. But if a majority of people voted for a theocratic Shiite Iraq, then everyone will have to grin and bear it.

Now how many of the above named groups (oh, I forgot the Kurds. Everyone kind of forgot the Kurds didn’t they?) will stick to the democratic principle and abide with the result if Sistani is declared puppet master? Fareed Zakaria notes that in conversation with an Iraqi politico the idea of two ayatollahs ruling Iraq came up – Sistani and Georgie Porgie (why is it that hardly anyone can say that name without qualifying it in some way?). And of the two, said the Iraqi, he figured Sistani was the better bet…and more sane.

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I think Sunnis in Iraq shot themselves in the foot, by bycotting the elections. They have no right to cry, now, that they are not well represented. Shias were intimidated just as much as Sunnis; but they asserted themselves bravely.

I`m reasonly convinced that the election results will be the fairest, because there is lot of international scrutiny.

I dont think that the shia dominated govt of Iraq will be as pro-American as Alawi`s...it will be interesting to see how Dubya will handle it. I hope he doesnt employ the British strategy of ``divide & rule``.

Hopefully for the Iraqi people & for the world, it can be a peaceful democracy, so the US can get the hell out of there.

Thanks, good reading.

The other big thing is that the current scenario has probably united most of the Iraqis (where did the Kurds figure?) as never before against Saddam who was often viewed as an American plant on Iraq in the first case. Somewhat like the anti-Shah days in Iran late`70s/early`80s, when extreme left and extreme right and extreme religious and everybody else united against the Shah who was viewed as a British colonial plant.

Time for India to step in, I am told . . .