Is Mr. Zarkawi crying in his coffee?

[dmorgan]

I can't help but wonder; what will happen if a shite or sunni or is elected... what will happen to the kurds ? what if a shite is elected and the sunni's don't like it, I wonder if in all the turmoil, a fanatic of Zarqawi or other terrorist cell is going to try and kill (read: kill) the newly elected president. I certainly hope not, but I can't help but think about it being a strong possibility.

[Egaladeist]

Hi RoadClosed,

Thanks, that was what I was looking for...like I said I didn't know and I was surprised no one brought it up...I actually thought the number would've been much higher...apparently I gave the millions of Iraqi's that live outside of Iraq more credit than they deserved...I thought that they would turn out in droves...apparently they must have abandoned hope for their own homeland and have resigned themselves to their adopted countries.

On an issue such as this I would have at the very least expected the disenfranchised Iraqi's to vote for the sake of relatives they have in Iraq. Apparently they don't care as much as I thought they would.

[edit] according to Canadian news-print there was well over an estimated one-million eligible voters outside of Iraq...74 intenational polling stations were set up ...one in Dearborn, Mich...which had 95,000 eligible area voters ( some of which were Canadians living in the Windsor area )...only 10% registered...and apparently, by RoadClosed statistics of 6,086( which were for the entire country ), probably only 1% in the Dearborn area even voted. [edit]

[gothic_type]

You are assuming that is the reason they did not vote. Perhaps the iraqi's not living in iraq who did not vote felt that since they were not living in iraq they should not have a say, it's impossible to tell.

I'd like to reiterate the point that the Sunnis who decided not to vote were actually given the chance to vote. The example of the latino community's votes not counting was not a good one because there is a difference between a vote not counting and someone using their vote. And as much as I would prefer any democratic assembly to fairly represent all the people of a country, I do not respect the reason that many of the Sunnis chose not to vote.

While Saddam Hussein was in power, the Sunnis were the rulers when the country is made up of a majority of Shias. The reason that many Sunnis do not want to vote is because they realise that in an election where everyone in the country has a say, they are not going to end up having a majority say in the government and will no-longer be the rulers. AFAIK, this is the reason for much of the violence.

Don't quote me on the above...as you can no-doubt guess, this is a fairly opinionated post.

ac

[bballad]

Tiger Shark: a lot of the kurkut vote was Kurds moving in to the area to vote there, the faction of kurds who want to from an independent Kurdistan see kurkuit with its oil as an important part of that nation. What we are seeing here is three distinct large groups that where forced into a coherent nation in the 1920's by the British. None of these group wants to be ruled by the others but we can’t break them up as that would strengthen the Iranians and incite the Turks. As for the an inclusive government, lets see what faction of the shite come into power.

[JasoninPrescott]

My only concern with the elections is there are diffrent groups who oppose each other and that there will be a bloodbath over who is elected. I oppose the war in Iraq and now that we have accomplished our goal of a democratic election in Iraq we should get out. I also feel that the law of unintended consequences is involved in this: meaning that Iraq will be turned into another Iran especially after we invade Iran for developing nuclear weapons and WMD.

[|3lack|ce]

Thought I'd add in this new development here - It's a classic when you think about it.

from here:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,146107,00.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's leading Sunni Muslim clerics said Wednesday the country's landmark elections lacked legitimacy because large numbers of Sunnis did not participate in the balloting, which the religious leaders had asked them to boycott.

There's much more but this is entirely enough to support a brief commentary...

Lesson learned by the Sunnis:

"We just won't play by your rules or participate in your election" guarantees your candidate will NOT be elected and rule the country. Ooooops. Maybe next time they'll learn? (/me is still chuckling as he writes this.)

[RoadClosed]

This was an election true but to form an assembly that will form basis for a government. They elected representatives to take part in this assembly. Iraq has had sovereignty since the Governing Council replaced the interim government authority (CPA) put in place by the coalition. Now this authority has been elected by the people instead of the CPA. The Governing Council has been using the Interim Constitution and their Bill of Rights to govern. Oh the TAL (transition administrative law) is the temporary guide until stability is achieved. It is interesting to note that the bill of rights contained in the TAL includes measures to ensure equality, but also the influence of Islam in law. Ok let me rephrase that, not an influence but the source from which law is developed. Like our system built around the often coined: Christian Judea principles as a foundation of what is right and wrong.

The Sunnis who listen to their religious leaders, who obviously do not desire a loss of control, are in a bad position. They should have voted. The problem is, they didn't think anyone else would show up and perhaps they can’t leave the control sphere of their spiritual captors?

Even the UN thinks the election was a success. Well they won’t actually say it but the say it “appears” to be a success. I have to admit I was against holding it so early, I thought perhaps Bush was being too quick and was motivated in politics versus what is best. But among the negatives of this issue one can't help but wonder how they feel over there. Here is one account from Barham Salih: "These elections would not have been possible without the liberation of Iraq, and without the sacrifice of the American and coalition forces in Iraq. And I hope the American public understands that those sacrifices have not been in vain. We're talking about democratic transformation in the heart of the Islamic Middle East, and it is a worthy objective."

So "no"; Americans should not leave until asked to do so by an elected government that is permanent and solid. A colleague asked me if I thought Americans would leave Iraq this year. "No". What about next year? "No” As already mentioned the United Nations has taken notice, and the European Union has pledged $261 Million Euro to the reconstruction effort. I hope we can come together finally and build a nation that is opposite to its past history and able to withstand the rough neighborhood it occupies on the geopolitical map.

The election of the permanent government should take place in December. It is my hope that by then, those who are killing people for supporting their elected government are diminished in capacity. Perhaps then a greater number of Citizens will have a voice to say "I want to vote!"

[!mitationRust]

Zarqawi's intercepted message to his Al Qaeda comrades admitted that his terror band was "failing to enlist support" inside Iraq and was "unable to scare the Americans into leaving."

Zarqawi's document also suggested a strategic solution to his group's failure: launch attacks on Iraqi Shias and start a "sectarian war" that he suggested would "rally the Sunni Arabs" to his cause. This war against Shiites, Zarqawi thought, "must start soon -- at 'zero hour' -- before the Americans hand over sovereignty to the Iraqis."


They just need to glance at their hail-fellow brothers to the southeast in Kuwait. The Shi’a and Sunni get along in Kuwaiti life, which I’ll bring to your attention is pretty luxurious. Fact: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force. Qatar just finished an $80 million dollar racetrack in the middle of the desert.
Turkey put their finger in the eye of the US a few years back, now we are returning the gesture with the Kurds. Kurds are sitting on a decent amount of oil, if they do seperate they will become the next Qatar or Kuwait.

[dmorgan]

BlackIce: I can't believe that. They refuse to participate and then complain about the outcome. What kind of BS is that ?

This can also serve as a lesson here in the US (or wherever you may be)
If you don't participate in an election, and you are elegible, ie: over 18, not a felon, then you have absolutley NO right to complain about the outcome. If you refuse to vote and the guy you are rootin for doesn't win, under any circumstances, you are NOT allowed to complain. You didn't do anything about the problem, so you have absolutely NO right to complain about the outcome.

[RoadClosed]

"must start soon -- at 'zero hour' -- before the Americans hand over sovereignty to the Iraqis."

Sovereignty was handed over last summer?