Iraqi Elections

Despite the best efforts of the 'insurgency', it would appear that the Iraqui elections will be conducted. An interesting article in the February Prospect - article_details, Prospect sggests that for better or worse the elections will represent an Iraqi rather than American point of view. Even at the risk of civil war, the elections ought to signal an opportunity for the Americans to leave Iraq to the Iraqis.

An interesting sidebar to this viewpoint is found in todays New York Times, on the op-ed page:


Ask Iraqi voters in a referendum six weeks after the national elections if they think foreign soldiers should withdraw immediately. Let the Iraqis debate what the absence of American forces will mean for their families and nation. Tell them we'll hold the referendum every nine months until they vote us out or we determine it's time to leave.

Will Iraq's mess be cleaned up overnight if the Iraqis vote for us to withdraw? No, but our withdrawal after a referendum telling us to go would signal a willingness to engage with Iraq as an ally rather than an occupier, a perception that January's elections are unlikely to correct.