Posted on 01/26/2005 6:34:52 PM PST by Former Military Chick
An Iraqi campaign ad running right now on al-Arabiyah opens with: "Hello, My name is Iyad Allawi, I am an Iraqi . . . We cannot stand by and watch the oppression and tyranny that have hurt Iraq. I have resisted this tyranny for over 30 years and I've been a target of attempted assassinations. I have returned to my country to take part in its rebuilding . . . ." Mr. Allawi, Iraq's interim prime minister, goes on to do something few Arab leaders ever have to do: ask his fellow citizens for their vote.
On Sunday millions will go to the polls in Iraq (and in other countries, including Syria and Iran, to vote absentee) in an election staffed by thousands of Iraqi election workers who, despite intimidation and violence, have mostly stuck with their mission. And it's all being broadcast on al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya. Because the give-and-take of Iraq's free election is playing out on pan-Arab TV, young Arabs from Damascus and Cairo to Kuwait City and Riyadh are audience to the birth of Iraq's democracy, however complicated.
For all the panic surges that have preceded each of its stages, the timeline for democracy worked out by the Iraqis and the coalition has held remarkably well. As before, succumbing to the current jitters would be a big mistake. The timeline set a series of benchmarks: Interim Constitution by last February, handover of sovereignty by end of June, and an election in January 2005. Two down, one to go, before Iraqis move on to constitution drafting, ratification and elections again at the end of '05.
While the skeptics are finally facing the reality that elections will go forward on Sunday, they are already -- like clockwork laying the groundwork for post-election analysis that will question the election's legitimacy.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
If anyone would like to read the entire article let me know.
Mr. Senor was senior adviser and chief spokesperson for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq from April 2003 to June 2004 **PING**
He's a good man. I only wish we could have kept him in Iraq.
He is very smart and articulate. I never got that impression from Mr. Bremmer, but I hope I was wrong.
Dan Senor just asked an awesome question of this ridiculous panel on Ted Koppel's Nightline. He basically laid out that Zarqawi has failed in every respect to transform the insurgency into civil war or to dissuade Americans or to impede the election significantly. He then further elaborated that Zarqawi himself has stressed that if a democratic state were to emerge in Iraq, that the terrorists would lose the pretext and have to pack up and leave. Ted Koppel then immediately cut to commercial.
I mentioned this a while back.
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