Free Republic

Donald Rumsfeld, one of the leading architects of the Iraq war, said in a recent interview that then-President George W. Bush was "unrealistic" to pursue democracy in the country. *snip * "The idea that we could fashion a democracy in Iraq seemed to me unrealistic. I was concerned about it when I first heard those words."

SPIEGEL Interview with Iraq's Ibrahim Jaafari "We Will Get the Upper Hand" Ibrahim Jaafari is soon expected to take the helm of Iraq as its first democratically elected prime minister. In a wide-ranging interview with DER SPIEGEL, he discusses the fight against terrorism in the Sunni triangle, friction among different ethnic groups and the key elements of the new constitution. REUTERS Ibrahim Jafari on future implementation of sharia law in Iraq: "That is only natural in a country populated mainly by Muslims." SPIEGEL: Dr. Jaafari, like other Iraqi politicians, you predicted that the wave of terrorism would subside after the...

Iraqi Election: Winners Rejoice, but Talk to Losers Although the Shia-dominated bloc got nearly half the vote, it still needs allies to prevent deadlock in parliament. By Zaineb Naji in Baghdad and Talar Nadir in Sulaimaniyah (ICR No. 112, 14-Feb-05) The Shia-dominated United Iraqi Alliance is looking around for coalition partners after it won nearly half the vote in Iraq’s national elections. Both Shia and Kurdish groups – the other main winner – say they are looking for ways to include the Sunnis in the political process. The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq announced on February 13 that the Alliance,...

From Tyranny to Freedom Democracy in Iraq has precedent. April 07, 2004 NRO Recent acts of barbarism against Coalition forces in Iraq have revived an old and enormously important debate: Are these terrorists the products of fanatic tyrannies, or are the tyrannies the logical expression of the true nature of the peoples of the region? This is not an academic exercise, for many argue that our foreign policy depends on the answer. If we believe that the barbarism is the result of the likes of Saddam Hussein and the Iranian mullahs, then the war against terrorism should concentrate on regime...

NPR Interviews Sulaiman Al-Hattlan, columnist for the Saudi daily paper Al Watan in Ryadd. He is also a Harvard Professor of Middle East Studies. Saudi Arabia to Hold First-Ever Elections The last question asked of Sulaiman Al-Hattlan: Q: “One last question- when the US began this war against Iraq in the spring a lot of writers and analysts were saying this might help generate a kind of wave of democratic freedom throughout the region. Is there any connection between the US war against Iraq and Saddam and this kind of nascent democratic flowering in and Saudi Arabia?” Answer: ”The discourse...