Friends,
The vote on the provincial elections in Iraq passed. Now, this does not include Kurdish lands and the shift in power could well be quite bloody. But, this is the first big, big step towards the sharing of power. The powerful usually do not let go of their power without a fight. The powerless will fight for power.
And our troops are there through all of this. They have allowed the Iraqis a chance for some sort of national governance. The Iraqis have a chance. But, it is very slim. The religious hatreds, the tribal hatreds, the billions of dollars in oil, all of the peoples armed, make a volatile situation. And our troops are there through all of this.
It is too easy to blithly say, that this proves our troops worth in Iraq. Too easy, because they are not the ones dying or watching their children die. It is way past time. Get our troops out of this fucking mistake. Why must they pay the price of this insanity?
Bring our troops home!
Peace, Love, and Hope,
Rev O
Washington Post Editorial
"WHILE WASHINGTON was seized with congressional negotiations over the Wall Street bailout, Iraq's parliament on Wednesday took another major step toward political stabilization. By a unanimous vote, the national legislature approved a plan for local elections in 14 of 18 provinces by early next year -- clearing the way for a new, more representative and more secular wave of politicians to take office. The legislation eliminates the party slate system that allowed religious authorities to dominate Iraq's previous elections, and it provides for women to hold 25 percent of seats. Most important, it will allow Sunni leaders who boycotted the 2005 provincial elections -- and who have since allied themselves with U.S. forces against al-Qaeda in Iraq -- to compete for political power in the provinces that were once the heartland of the insurgency.
As always in Iraq's halting journey toward a new order, the reform was not complete. Elections were put off in the province surrounding the volatile city of Kirkuk, where Kurds, Sunni Arabs and other groups compete for power, and in three Kurd-run provinces. Staging fair and peaceful elections will be another major challenge: In the south of Iraq, competition among Shiite parties, including those of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Mahdi Army leader Moqtada al-Sadr, could easily spill over into violence. The importance of securing the elections is one good reason for President Bush's decision to withdraw only 8,000 of the 146,000 remaining U.S. troops in Iraq between now and February. Still, the precipitous drop in violence in Iraq during the past year offers strong reason for hope that a good election can be held -- and that the new Sunni and Shiite leaders who emerge will be well positioned to jump-start reconstruction in the provinces and negotiate with each other."
"Democrat Barack Obama continues to argue that only the systematic withdrawal of U.S. combat units will force Iraqi leaders to compromise. Yet the empirical evidence of the past year suggests the opposite: that only the greater security produced and guaranteed by American troops allows a political environment in which legislative deals and free elections are feasible."
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