Posted on 01/10/2005 1:56:30 PM PST by bamaborn
BAGHDAD — Iraq's interim government has met U.S. officials and Iraqi politicians regarding a postponement of the Jan. 30 elections.
Iraqi officials said Prime Minister Iyad Alawi and Defense Minister Hazem Shalaan have determined that insurgents would torpedo Sunni participation in the elections, a move that could split the country.
"Alawi sees no point in the elections, but doesn't want to do anything without a consensus that would include the United States," an Iraqi official said. "He has been talking to everybody to ensure that any delay would be limited and agreed by all."
Sunni insurgents have stepped up attacks against both the coalition and the Iraqi government, Middle East Newsline reported. Over the weekend, insurgents abducted three senior Iraqi officials and killed at least five people who worked for the U.S. military.
Officials said Alawi and other senior ministers have assessed that the rise in insurgency attacks in Baghdad and the Sunni Triangle would dissuade most Sunni voters from traveling to the polling stations. They said Alawi has been concerned that a Sunni boycott would mark a huge victory for Saddam Hussein loyalists.
"I think a worst case is where they have a series of horrific attacks that cause mass casualties in some spectacular fashion in the days leading up to the elections," Brig. Gen. Erv Lessel, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said. "If you look over the last six months, they have steadily escalated the barbaric nature of the attacks they have been committing. A year ago, you didn't see these kinds of horrific things."
[On Monday, the deputy police chief of Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Amr Ali Nayef, and his son, also a police officer, were shot dead in Baghdad. Later, a suicide car bomb disguised as a police vehicle was detonated inside a police station courtyard. At least four officers were killed.]
So far, Alawi has proposed a postponement of the elections for about one month. Officials said coalition and Iraqi forces have made a dent in the violence and over the next few weeks could be utilized for an intensive effort against Saddam loyalists and the Tawhid and Jihad group headed by Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi. One option, they said, was the formation of a joint U.S.-Iraqi squad to hunt down and kill insurgency leaders.
Officials said Shi'ite politicians have also been considering a delay in the elections, a proposal urged by European Union and Arab states. They said the United States does not oppose a delay as long as Shi'ite leaders, particularly Ayatollah Ali Sistani and Kurdish politicians, announce their consent and Sunni leaders pledge to participate in rescheduled elections.
Alawi's proposal would set a new date for elections that would not be revised, officials said. They said the proposed delay would comprise the final opportunity for the Sunni community to participate in an elected post-Saddam government.
"We all want elections, but we are seeking fair and free elections," Sheik Mahmoud Al Somaidie, a member of the Sunnis' Association of Muslim Scholars, said. "Those of us who are calling for postponement are seeking that for the benefit of the country. Elections have to be an Iraqi demand, not the demand of the foreign countries."
Unfortunately, the opposition will see this as a victory and be energized by it.
NO DELAYS!
The media will see to it that it is played that way. And those terrorists responsible for the attacks may well be emboldened by it. But do you agree that, if there must be a delay, that it would more than likely be for the better?
More importantly, the terrorist scum will see this as a victory, and we cannot give them anything on a platter.
NOT GOOD---FIRST THOUGHT---NO WAY, UNLESS YOU WANT THE TERRORISTS TO BE DANCING IN THE STREETS!!!
Alawi is just a moron if he does agree to postpone the elections. yes, it will be a damn win for the terrorits because that is why they want.
Is this confirmed by other sources? I am really upset now that this can really happen, i.e. postponing the elections.
Hold the elections as scheduled, make sure there is sufficent force available to deter or put down events.
In the end, it is the Iraqi people themelves who must show that they are willing to risk life itself to gain their freedom. That is the most significant point to be made...and it can only be made if they love freedom and liberty more than life itself for the sake of their families and future generations. They have the perfect opportunity to do that on January 30th...and delay will only make matters in this regard worse.
Anything less will simply not do and ensure that the enemy escalates its campaign of violence once they think they have the Iraqi people and us on the run.
Didn't Alawi declare the other day that there would be no postponement, and that January 30 was the day? This story is all just hearsay as far as I'm concerned, unless and until Alawi himself speaks of this matter.
why=what
I can certainly see the arguments for a delay, but in my opinion it won't really accomplish anything. The Baathist Sunni psychopaths aren't going to be any more willing to accept a civilized election two months from now than they are three weeks from now. The bottom line is they know they don't have the numbers to win, and they've become accustomed to having absolute power for too long.
They want there to be no elections. And I agree that they want to postpone them. But we want the elections to be seen as fair and open to all and for us not to see that through would defeat the purpose.
So what do we do? Do we give the terrorists this battle(postponing the elections) while we go on to have fair and free elections open to all and win the war? Or do we forge ahead and have the elections even though they may not be seen as legit, thus causing a greater backlash?
Believe me, I want these elections to be over and done with. But I want them to be done in such a way that we leave there successful.
No delay! This tests the resolution of the US. We must not waver at all.
America friend. Be strong :}}}}}}} Thank you
What do the terrorists want? Cancel the election or keep postponing it.
What shall we and the Iraqis do? Do not postpone the election and have it on January 30th.
"Alawi sees no point in the elections"
Am I missing something, or did the reporter of this story?
I hope we do have the elections Jan 30. ANd I have never once picked up a NYT. Gimme a break.
Not the best source..I await confirmation.
Agreed.
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