The Louis-Steenson Factor
ANDRE LOUIS AND KATHY STEENSON
Issue date: 3/8/05 Section: Opinion
Not So Fast, Iraq
It's official. Iraq now joins
the likes of the United States,
Great Britain and yes, Poland.
Through sacrifice, steadfastness,
resolution, and determination,
Iraq is now a free and
democratic state. The historical
Iraqi elections represent
significant strides toward freedom
and liberty. "Coalition"
soldiers and Iraqi citizens have
triumphed over the evil insurgency.
This is great news,
right? Well, don't put on your
party hats just yet.
Though the Bush
Administration has universally
portrayed the election as a historic
success, the truth is the
recent Iraqi elections are a
miserable disaster by any conceivable
measure. Before you
write me off completely, please
consider the following:
(1) Of the close to 28 million
citizens of Iraq, 70% of
them did not participate in the
election at all. In total, 18 million
Iraqis were excluded from
this election. Only 60% of the
Iraqi population was even registered
to vote in the first
place. Of that number only
half actually voted. The Bush
Administration conveniently
blames this flop insurgency,
claiming that Iraqis were too
frightened to vote. But in reality,
even among the Iraqi exiles
who live in safety far away,
only a tiny morsel bothered to
vote. Considering President
Bush's history of forcing ideals
on a people, who can blame
them? The reality is, only a
tiny minority of Iraqi people
has any real interest in
America's plans for the future
of Iraq.
(2) The vast majority of
people in Iraq are Shia
Muslims, while the remaining
40% or so are made up of
many small rival factions.
That said, the Shia will win
elections every time, while the
other candidates served primarily
as a formality (for illustration
sake, think of the Green
Party).
(3) Contrary to Western
ideology, democracy does not
work in every situation. Under
Saddam Hussein, Iraq was a
It's official. Iraq now joins
the likes of the United States,
Great Britain and yes, Poland.
Through sacrifice, steadfastness,
resolution, and determination,
Iraq is now a free and
democratic state. The historical
Iraqi elections represent
significant strides toward freedom
and liberty. "Coalition"
soldiers and Iraqi citizens have
triumphed over the evil insurgency.
This is great news,
right? Well, don't put on your
party hats just yet.
Though the Bush
Administration has universally
portrayed the election as a historic
success, the truth is the
recent Iraqi elections are a
miserable disaster by any conceivable
measure. Before you
write me off completely, please
consider the following:
(1) Of the close to 28 million
citizens of Iraq, 70% of
them did not participate in the
election at all. In total, 18 million
Iraqis were excluded from
this election. Only 60% of the
Iraqi population was even registered
to vote in the first
place. Of that number only
half actually voted. The Bush
Administration conveniently
blames this flop insurgency,
claiming that Iraqis were too
frightened to vote. But in reality,
even among the Iraqi exiles
who live in safety far away,
only a tiny morsel bothered to
vote. Considering President
Bush's history of forcing ideals
on a people, who can blame
them? The reality is, only a
tiny minority of Iraqi people
has any real interest in
America's plans for the future
of Iraq.
(2) The vast majority of
people in Iraq are Shia
Muslims, while the remaining
40% or so are made up of
many small rival factions.
That said, the Shia will win
elections every time, while the
other candidates served primarily
as a formality (for illustration
sake, think of the Green
Party).
(3) Contrary to Western
ideology, democracy does not
work in every situation. Under
Saddam Hussein, Iraq was a