Free Republic

Despite the lack of security in Iraq today, a democratic, pluralistic Iraq is the only acceptable outcome. Iraq's unity can be best secured through the involvement of all groups in the political process. The concerns being voiced by many in the international community, of the fear of Sunni marginalization and Shiite domination, were the same concerns that allowed Saddam to last as long as he did. Those arguments are reappearing today, to close the door of hope and opportunity for the Iraqi people. But Saddamism without Saddam is simply not an option. Iraq's people are already realizing their objective of...

Postponing elections will be a terrible jolt to Iraq's long-suffering Shiites, who have seen democracy as providing them the fruits of their numerical majority. But regional elections will give the Shiites the self-government they desire without the burden of taking on an invigorated Sunni insurgency and a recalcitrant, but powerful, Kurdistan. To see what is possible in their own region, the Shiites need only look north to an increasingly prosperous Kurdistan that is today the only safe part of Iraq. For Bush, postponing national elections would be a setback; he has leaned heavily on the upcoming vote to justify his...

Iraq Elections Set; Rebel Crackdown Continues Sunday, November 21, 2004 Farid Ayar (search), spokesman of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, said areas still beset by violence — including the insurgent strongholds of Fallujah and Ramadi, as well as northern Mosul — will participate in the elections. "No Iraqi province will be excluded, because the law considers Iraq as one constituency, and therefore it is not legal to exclude any province," he said. Meanwhile, Iraqi police say officers and national guard troops will begin operations this week aimed at rooting out insurgents in Baghdad and elsewhere. Officials say they will...