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February 17, 2005
Prime Minister Jaafari
Were Al Hakim's tears really tears of disappointment, not tears of joy, when the election results were released on Sunday? I still can't find any reliable accounts, but many have attributed it to either disappointment, or raw emotion at the final result which nineteen members of his family were killed in the process of reaching. Either way, it reminded me that the SCIRI and Dawa Party are still political novices, and recent stories have also raised the point that they would prefer to enforce Sharia and have every Muslim woman in Baghdad wear a veil, for else. The most disappointing moment however, was when I heard that Chalabi was a candidate for PM.
Chalabi? Wasn't there a recent poll of Iraqi's which said only 3% had any respect for the man? This is like the Republicans nominating Dan Quayle for President, or Rush Limbaugh, Oxycotin charges and all. It sure might put a strain in ties with Jordan if the Iraqi PM is arrested on old charges of fraud on his first diplomatic visit.
I seriously doubt Chalabi will win the secret ballot to be held soon, or that if he did, that Sistani - with final say - would approve it. In that light, the certified results show the UAI did get 140 seats as many experts had predicted. 75 for the Kurds. 40 for Allawi. Jaafari will be PM, Talabani will be President, and the Iraqi constitution will not include Sharia. All it takes is a 2/3 majority in any three provinces to defeat the constitution. My fear is that this could lead to more autonomy for the Kurds than anyone but the Kurds would be comfortable with, since almost all Kurds support an independent Kurdistan separate from Iraq. Should be interesting.
Posted by Mike at February 17, 2005 10:16 AM
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