[Dean's World] Dave Price: Free To Choose

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Posted by Dave Price:
Free To Choose
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1186546368.shtml


   Apropos [1]Bill Ardolino, [2]the ITM boys, and, well, [3]pretty much
   everyone really, it's worth noting that Iraqi elections are scheduled
   for 2009.
   In their defense, Iraqi pols are very new at this, and are tasked with
   mending the legacy of several decades of brutal oppression (not to
   mention centuries of Sunni/Shia conflict) in a matter of months.
   Maliki has done a fair job of administering the country and [4]his
   approval rating reflects that, but his efforts at compromise on the
   big issues have been stymied by the current Sunni pols, who are making
   unrealistic demands and were elected with a very thin turnout (and
   thus little mandate). Also, I should note it's more than a little
   hypocritical for American Congresscritters to to angrily denounce the
   Iraqi parliament for taking a recess in the searing Baghdad summer
   even as the U.S. Congress packs up for its own apparently sacrosanct,
   war-proof recess.
   But there's no question Iraqi's elected officials are a disappointment
   overall, though one suspects they would score higher than our own
   Congress' [5]3% approval for their handling of Iraq. As I've noted
   before, [6]democracy is a learning process for the electorate. If
   everyday Iraqis want peace and prosperity rather than sectarian strife
   and extremism, that should be apparent at the ballot box in the next
   election.
   Which bring me to an increasingly obvious conclusion: at this point,
   the best option is probably early elections, especially given the sea
   change in Sunni areas. I remember thinking at the time the Iraqi
   constitution was ratified that 4 years was way too long between
   elections for such a very young democracy -- and really for any
   democracy (imagine how much less accountable our legislators would be
   if House elections were 4 years off). Things have changed immensely in
   Iraq over the last 3 years, and Iraqis should have a government that
   represents those changes and is responsive to Iraq's current, pressing
   needs.

References

   1. http://www.indcjournal.com/archives/003054.php
   2. http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/2007/08/untimely-recess.html
   3. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1650349,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
   4. http://pantra11.blogspot.com/2007/03/for-what-its-worth.html
   5. http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2007/08/04/unreported-poll-congress-gets-3-approval-rating-handling-iraq-war
   6. http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1184603802.shtml