Post Iraqi Elections News and Analysis Roundup
- Lawhawk
- Lawhawk
- Lawhawk
- Lawhawk
- Lawhawk
- Lawhawk
- Lawhawk
- Lawhawk
- Lawhawk
- Lawhawk
This archived discussion is "read only".
« Previous 1 2 Next »
» Lawhawk - Iraqi Election Results Now Official
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wire...-- posted by Lawhawk
» Lawhawk - Totten: Better Than Expected
http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/00...-- posted by Lawhawk
» Lawhawk - And the winner is... democracy
http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/editor...-- posted by Lawhawk
» Lawhawk - Every party grumpy, but content...
http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedco...Dismiss the media nonsense about the Sunni Arab failure to participate invalidating the elections. The Sunni Arabs know they blew it. Their most promising politicians are maneuvering for a role in writing the new constitution. And the Shi'as and Kurds will bring key Sunni Arabs into the process. They know their society better than the pundits do.Peters may be overzealous in thinking that the parties will be grumpy but content. We see in our own political system in the US that grumpy doesn't quite define the Democratic party these days. Angry, hostile, radicalized - those are more appropriate terms for the firebrands leading the party these days, but that's missing in Iraq.You can also disregard the warnings that Iraq will turn into another Iran. Ain't going to happen. The Grand Ayatollah Sistani, Iraq's most revered figure, is well aware that Iran's theocracy has failed miserably — tarnishing the faith he loves. As a result, Sistani has set a rational course that will endure beyond his death.
The constitution may end up with more strictures than we like. But the odds are that the document will be a sensible compromise — with every party grumpy, but content. Clerics will have influence, but won't rule.
Much can still go wrong, of course. But the prophets of doom were mistaken about the war, about the insurgency's appeal, and about the enthusiasm of the Iraqis for elections. There's no reason to believe that their critiques of the election results are any wiser.
And the critics seem determined to ignore the most encouraging outcome of all: No Iraqi voting bloc handed power to fanatics or demagogues.
Arabs and Kurds alike chose coalitions, not rigid parties. Kurds put longstanding rivalries aside, while Shi'as voted for a range of interests under two umbrella organizations. And while the United Iraqi Alliance drew almost half of the votes, it may not even survive to the next election.
One reason for that may simply be that the Iraqis are far more pragmatic and realistic than a certain political party in the US.
-- posted by Lawhawk
» Lawhawk - Sunni parties admit being wrong, now seek to join in government
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/a...Iraq's Arab Sunnis will do a U-turn and join the political process despite their lack of representation in the newly elected national assembly, Sunni leaders said yesterday. ...They catch on quick. Now, if those terrorists would finally realize that they're not going to bring back the Ba'athists or install Islamofascists, we'd have made real progress. I guess until that happens, we'll have to continue playing whack a terrorist.All three blocs have promised to reach out to the Sunnis, who comprise a fifth of the population but won just a handful of seats because of low turnouts in their areas. This will soon be tested as parties forge alliances and tussle for government posts, including that of prime minister and president.
-- posted by Lawhawk
» Lawhawk - Shi'ites win majority of seats in Iraqi Assembly
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mymod/hdln/z/aprw...-- posted by Lawhawk
» Lawhawk - Are we seeing the Ba'athist endgame being played out?
http://www.rogerlsimon.com/mt-archives/2... - The Ba'athists have lost, and are now seeking to save face, which may explain why there are 'secret' talks being held between US and Sunni groups to discuss how they would be brought into the fold.That's certainly good news, but one must hold their reservations since there are still extremists who have to be dealt with, and this doesn't touch on the terrorists who are still roaming the country. If the Ba'athists come into the fold as a legitimate political entity, that would put additional pressure on the terrorists, many of whom are entering via Syria and Iran.
Oh, and that pressure would extend into Damascus and Tehran, who would have seen their strategy of destabilizing US efforts fail and expose their regimes to additional pressure from within.
-- posted by Lawhawk
» Lawhawk - Interim Iraqi Vice President al-Jaafari to be prime minister
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,1483...Interim Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari (search) was chosen as his Shiite ticket's candidate for prime minister Tuesday after Ahmad Chalabi (search) dropped his bid, senior alliance officials said.Al-Jaafari's selection means he likely will lead Iraq's first democratically elected government in 50 years. But first he has to be approved by a coalition that likely will include the Kurds, and then he must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the newly elected National Assembly
Pressure from within the ranks of the United Iraqi Alliance (search), which won Iraq's landmark Jan. 30 election, forced the withdrawal of Chalabi, a one-time Pentagon favorite, said Hussein al-Moussawi from the Shiite Political Council, an umbrella group for 38 Shiite parties.
-- posted by Lawhawk
» Lawhawk - Kurds and Shi'ites make deal on forming government
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/...-- posted by Lawhawk
» Lawhawk - Iraqi Parliment Agrees on Goverment
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/28/intern...Against a backdrop of applause, lawmakers signed off today on a list of cabinet officials, ushering in a multiethnic government.
-- posted by Lawhawk
« Previous 1 2 Next »
Please follow the guidelines set forth in the Suite101 Posting Etiquette when adding to the discussion.