So - elections over - guess we can go home?

[link|http://mahablog.com/2005.01.30_arch.html#1107093975645|http://mahablog.com/...tml#1107093975645]

The real test of the new government may be a test for George Bush, also. A large majority -- 80 percent, it says [link|http://politicalwire.com/archives/2005/01/29/polls_show_iraqis_want_us_troops_out.html|here] -- of Iraqis want American troops to go away. But Bush is saying the [link|http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=2X4DD5UX4EQN2CRBAEZSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=7474213|troops must stay], and he refuses even to suggest a timetable for withdrawal.

So what happens if the newly elected government of Iraq orders the troops out of their country?

Not that I expect that will happen. Seems that many of the people who showed up at the polls had no clue what they were voting for (a bit like the US I guess). At least according to [link|http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/31/opinion/31herbert.html?oref=login&hp|this].

Much of the electorate was voting blind. Half or more of those who went to the polls believed they were voting for a president. They weren't. They were electing a transitional national assembly that will have as its primary task the drafting of a constitution. The Washington Post noted that because of the extreme violence that preceded the election "almost none of the 7,700 candidates for the National Assembly campaigned publicly or even announced their names."

As John F. Burns put it in The Times yesterday:

"Half a dozen candidates have been assassinated. As a result, the names of all others have not been made public; they were available in the last days of the campaign on Web sites inaccessible to most Iraqis, few of whom own computers."

Post #192,365 by tuberculosis 1/31/05 1:00:15 PM Reply	So - elections over - guess we can go home? [link\|http://mahablog.com/2005.01.30_arch.html#1107093975645\|http://mahablog.com/...tml#1107093975645] The real test of the new government may be a test for George Bush, also. A large majority -- 80 percent, it says [link\|http://politicalwire.com/archives/2005/01/29/polls_show_iraqis_want_us_troops_out.html\|here] -- of Iraqis want American troops to go away. But Bush is saying the [link\|http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=2X4DD5UX4EQN2CRBAEZSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=7474213\|troops must stay], and he refuses even to suggest a timetable for withdrawal. So what happens if the newly elected government of Iraq orders the troops out of their country? Not that I expect that will happen. Seems that many of the people who showed up at the polls had no clue what they were voting for (a bit like the US I guess). At least according to [link\|http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/31/opinion/31herbert.html?oref=login&hp\|this]. Much of the electorate was voting blind. Half or more of those who went to the polls believed they were voting for a president. They weren't. They were electing a transitional national assembly that will have as its primary task the drafting of a constitution. The Washington Post noted that because of the extreme violence that preceded the election "almost none of the 7,700 candidates for the National Assembly campaigned publicly or even announced their names." As John F. Burns put it in The Times yesterday: "Half a dozen candidates have been assassinated. As a result, the names of all others have not been made public; they were available in the last days of the campaign on Web sites inaccessible to most Iraqis, few of whom own computers." "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush
Post #192,382 by ChrisR 1/31/05 5:03:07 PM Reply	Mission Accomplished!
Post #192,418 by tablizer 1/31/05 10:08:18 PM Reply	Did they ask'em if Iraq can handle own security problems? Sure, they don't like foreign occupiers, who does. But a "frustration" answer is different from a practical answer. If they worded the question something like, "Can Iraq handle it's own security problems without the U.S. if U.S. left right now?", the percent would probably be lower. ________________ oop.ismad.com

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