fwd: Juan Cole on the Iraqi elections

from: MediaChannel.org <mediachannel@democracyinaction.org>

Juan Cole, the Iraq expert at the University of Michigan was dismayed by the coverage. Let me quote from his excellent JuanCole.com website.

"I'm just appalled by the cheerleading tone of US news coverage of the so-called elections in Iraq on Sunday. I said on television last week that this event is a "political earthquake" and "a historical first step" for Iraq. It is an event of the utmost importance, for Iraq, the Middle East, and the world. All the boosterism has a kernel of truth to it, of course. Iraqis hadn't been able to choose their leaders at all in recent decades, even by some strange process where they chose unknown leaders. But this process is not a model for anything, and would not willingly be imitated by anyone else in the region. The 1997 elections in Iran were much more democratic, as were the 2002 elections in Bahrain and Pakistan.

"Moreover, as Swopa rightly reminds us all, the Bush administration opposed one-person, one-vote elections of this sort. First they were going to turn Iraq over to Chalabi within six months. Then Bremer was going to be MacArthur in Baghdad for years. Then on November 15, 2003, Bremer announced a plan to have council-based elections in May of 2004. The US and the UK had somehow massaged into being provincial and municipal governing councils, the members of which were pro-American. Bremer was going to restrict the electorate to this small, elite group.

"Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani immediately gave a fatwa denouncing this plan and demanding free elections mandated by a UN Security Council resolution. Bush was reportedly "extremely offended" at these two demands and opposed Sistani. Bremer got his appointed Interim Governing Council to go along in fighting Sistani. Sistani then brought thousands of protesters into the streets in January of 2004, demanding free elections. Soon thereafter, Bush caved and gave the ayatollah everything he demanded. Except that he was apparently afraid that open, non-manipulated elections in Iraq might become a factor in the US presidential campaign, so he got the elections postponed to January 2005. This enormous delay allowed the country to fall into much worse chaos, and Sistani is still bitter that the Americans didn't hold the elections last May. The US objected that they couldn't use UN food ration cards for registration, as Sistani suggested. But in the end that is exactly what they did! .

"So if it had been up to Bush, Iraq would have been a soft dictatorship under Chalabi, or would have had stage-managed elections with an electorate consisting of a handful of pro-American notables. It was Sistani and the major Shiite parties that demanded free and open elections and a UNSC resolution. They did their job and got what they wanted. But the Americans have been unable to provide them the requisite security for truly aboveboard democratic elections.

"With all the hoopla, it is easy to forget that this was an extremely troubling and flawed "election." Iraq is an armed camp. There were troops and security checkpoints everywhere. Vehicle traffic was banned. The measures were successful in cutting down on car bombings that could have done massive damage. But even these Draconian steps did not prevent widespread attacks, which is not actually good news. There is every reason to think that when the vehicle traffic starts up again, so will the guerrilla insurgency."?

"Iraq now faces many key issues that could tear the country apart, from the issues of Kirkuk and Mosul to that of religious law. James Zogby on Wolf Blitzer wisely warned the US public against another "Mission Accomplished" moment. Things may gradually get better, but this flawed "election" isn't a Mardi Gras for Americans and they'll regret it if that is the way they treat it."

Advice for US peacemakers by Carol Wolman

ADVICE FOR US PEACEMAKERS

 

1) Recognize our importance.  The Bush war machine can only be stopped by a peace movement within the US.  Our ability to mobilize may well decide the future of the planet.

 

2)  Keep Isaiah's vision of peace always in mind:  Isaiah 2: 4- they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.  This vision is enshrined on the wall of the UN General Assembly building, and can only be realized by fully empowering the community of nations.

 

As peacemakers, we must keep pressure on Bush to honor all US treaties, especially the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and the Geneva convention, and to join other treaties that will contribute to world peace and stability, such as Kyoto and the landmine treaty.  We must work to ban weaponry from space.  We must also insist that the US place itself under the jurisdiction of international legal bodies such as the International Criminal Court, and give up being an outlaw, rogue nation.

 

3) The US peace movement must recognize that we received a double shock on November 2, 2005.  Many of us believed that Kerry had a good chance of being elected.  We have to face the fact that Bush appeared to win by a comfortable margin, and that the voting fraud was so widespread and cleverly concealed that his "victory" appeared indisputable. 

 

Then there was Kerry's final flipflop, his refusal to mount a serious challenge to the vote, despite his pre-election rhetoric.  I personally am left with a bitter sense of betrayal. 

 

We must acknowledge the full implications of this disaster.  Not only does it mean at least 4 more years of GW Bush, but this time he has bought enough semblance of legitimacy to make him much harder to challenge.  He also has a more Republican Congress.  We have to face the fact that thousands of people colluded with the voting fraud, whether for a bribe or out of cultish zeal.  Corruption of our electoral process is deep and wide.

 

Kerry's behavior proves what many of us suspected, that the main purpose of his campaign was not to win- he knew as well as anyone that the machines were rigged- but to deflect the peace movement.  Alas, the Democratic party, whose bosses are in favor of war for profit just as Bush is, succeeded in rerouting the energy of the anti-Iraq war movement into a meaningless political campaign- just for show.  We MUST face this, and be realistic about what we are up against.

 

4) We must shift gears.  During the election, many of us in the peace movement went into overdrive, throwing our energy into the effort to defeat Bush.  This frenetic energy continued through the recount effort, which was very encouraging.  Now it is time to stop and assess, and regroup.  We have to reclaim our identity as a peace movement outside of the electoral process, and seek to influence not just through politics, but also by moral persuasion.

 

5) We need to reclaim our movement from the liberal Democrats, and rebuild from the ground up.  The peace movement needs to have a visible presence in every community, with meetings, tabling at events, floats in local parades, and fostering of anti-campus recruitment drives, outreach to returning veterans, and constant lobbying for peace.

 

6) We must maintain high visibility, despite fears of fascism, and not allow ourselves to be intimidated.  Wear peace jewelry and buttons, put peace bumper stickers on your vehicles and signs in your windows.  Flash the peace sign to strangers.  Encourage one another.

 

7)  We must reclaim the Bible and the Prince of Peace.  God promises peace, wishes us peace, sent us His son to help us make peace.  The warmongers in power have hijacked the Bible, just as they have hijacked the voting process, the media, the US military.  Let us never forget that God is on our side, and we have a special blessing from God:

 

 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."

             Matthew 5: 9

 

We are the army of the Prince of Peace, fighting the spiritual battle of Armageddon against the warmongers.  Let us remember our high calling, and rely on Him who called us.

 

In the name of the Prince of Peace,   Carol Wolman