In January there is supposed to be a national election in Iraq, which should be the start of their status as a full, free nation, though they’ll still be dependent on the U.S. military for security. In order to hold an election, you first have to register voters. Juan Cole reports that there is a shortage of cards used for registering new voters. The cards are based on the old U.N. food ration list, which were given by household, not by individual, so it’s not entirely clear how many voters need to be registered. The information Cole cites indicates that hundreds of thousands may be missed.
As expected, the various national factions in Iraq are manuvering for power as plans for the election proceed. The Independent Election Committee of Iraq has set up stringent requirements for candidates, more stringent than most countries use, which raises concerns that the interim government may be trying to squeeze some candidates out. They’ve also decided that no former Baathist member will be allowed if they held rank above a certain, fairly low, level, and this will disqualify many educated people such as teachers and college professors.
And beyond the struggles between Baathists, Sunnis and Shiites, there are struggles between various Shiite factions, and everyone is apparently fighting with Ahmed Chalabi’s power base. No one seems to know how to accomodate Moqtada al Sadr’s base, either. Really, it makes our red state/blue state struggles look ridiculously simple.
This election is to create a 275-person national assembly that will then write a constitution and install a national government. Some degree of national unity will be necessary if the assembly is to pull that off. It remains to be seen how much unity will come out of this interim election, especially since Iraq will be under martial law for the two months leading up to the election, and violent attacks continue around the country.
Desert Storm Vet must serve again
I know the military is really stretched right now, but this is insanity. They’ve been calling up the inactive reserve, but Miyasato already fulfilled his entire service contract. I sure hope it’s only a mistake, and the government will leave this poor guy alone.
Heartland = Confederacy?
digby at Hullabaloo has written a lengthy piece on red states and the history of north/south conflict in the U.S. It’s essential reading if you want to understand the election just past.
I actually live in a purple state
As I’ve said before, I live in Colorado. Colorado is considered a “red state”, which is a term I don’t care for much. Lots of liberals live and vote in red states. Quite a few conservatives live and vote in blue states. In fact, I think it’s more accurate to say that most of America is different shades of purple, and it would be wiser to realize that while there may be red and blue people in this country, most of us live near some of each. Even the supposedly “solid red” south has large swaths of liberal voters, and a lot of purple too. The only parts of the west that are bright red are places mostly inhabited by cows.
I love that map. I’ve looked at it over and over. The purpleness of Colorado explains why we elected one of only two new Democratic senators this year (Salazar’s very moderate, it’s true; he’s a good fit for Colorado). We also approved progressive funding for schools, mass transit, and renewable energy, and returned control of our state senate and legislature to the Democrats for the first time in 50 years.
There are many other visual ways of looking at the election data, and they show the red state/blue state scheme is completely inadequate. Don’t let the MSM* fool you into simplicity. Be purple!
*MainStream Media
More on voting irregularities
The Blogging of the President is maintaining a list of links to all the available info on potential and actual voting fraud in the election.
Thanks Shaun!
I’m blue too (and I live in a red state)
Many thanks to Kevin Drum for pointing me to Michael Kinsley’s latest column, in which he mentions the unmentionable: that conservatives in this country are at least as arrogant and elitist as liberals are. And Kinsley managed to say it while making me laugh, too, which isn’t easy these days.
The Darfur Camps
Earlier this week I heard a chilling story on NPR, short and with no resolution. The newscast said that in Sudan, the government had surrounded the Darfur refugee camps and was refusing to allow aid workers or reporters inside. No one knew what was happening. But given that the Muslim government there has colluded in the genocide of the black African refugees, this was an ominous development. I expected to hear that nothing was left but mass graves.
But intervention by international forces has apparently stopped what was the beginning of a forced transfer of the Darfur refugees. At least one camp was destroyed in the incident. The situation in the region remains extremely unstable, and more deaths are certain to come. Aid agencies are being forced out by rebel attacks.
In his latest column for the Village Voice, Nat Hentoff is scathing in his description of how the United Nations has failed the Darfur refugees. And of course, the U.S. is caught up in fighting elsewhere, and has little to offer in terms of help. I don’t see anything but heartbreak ahead for these people.
Fallujah
So our troops are moving into position for a final assault on Fallujah. I’m very worried that it will turn out to be a disaster, both for our troops and for the innocent civilians who remain in the city. It’s not clear how many do remain; CNN was saying that 50,000 people are still there out of a population of 250,000 previously. I’d be surprised if all of those 50,000 were insurgents.
I hope for the best, and hold Bush and his administration responsible for the massive disaster that Iraq has become.
EJ Dionne is angry
His column on the election hits all the right notes, IMO.
Let’s be honest: We are aghast at the success of a campaign based on vicious personal attacks, the exploitation of strong religious feelings and an effort to create the appearance of strong leadership that would do Hollywood proud. We are alarmed that so many of our fellow citizens could look the other way and not hold Bush accountable for utter incompetence in Iraq and for untruths spoken in defense of the war. We are amazed that a majority was not concerned about heaping a huge debt burden on our children just to give large tax breaks to the rich.
And we are disgusted that an effort consciously designed to divide the country did exactly that — and won.
Read the whole thing.