Friday, November 26, 2004Postpone Iraq elections?Funny thing. I've seen arguments for this in a couple newspapers and here and there on the web. What's most striking is that those arguing most strongly for a hearing for the Sunnis (who are pushing for a delay) are the same ones who in the run-up to the elections were arguing that Iraq could never be set aright because of conflict between the Sunnis, the Shiites and the Kurds. Now that the Iraqi government and U.S. forces are more freely taking apart the militant Sunni organizations and (re)capturing the areas they control, the Sunnis are suddenly open to negotiation - to a point. Bull. That the Sunnis are talking at all is an admission that our military operations and Iraq's efforts to build a civil society are working... but that the heretofore obstructionist Sunnis had been too busy banking on bringing it all down to get their own act together and get ready. Too damn bad. The Sunnis need to learn that threat of arms, threat of violence and even incessant whining are not the answer, only serious efforts to buy into and build into an emerging civil society. This is a moment when the most obstructionist Sunnis, having focused on blowing it all up, get to sit out in the cold while those who were at least better at calculating if not sincere in a desire to move forward are rewarded for choosing the political route. Rearranging elections and election timetables and proving the naysayers right about problems bringing democracy to Iraq is the wrong way to go. The Iraqi governing council should proceed with election plans, announcing each and every day the importance of its being replaced with a government with greater democratic legitimacy and casting as anti-Iraqi independence anyone who suggests that the U.S. created, U.N. backed council should be in a day longer than necessary to get Iraq ready to select its own leaders. 
posted by gbarto at 11:39 PM |
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