In some more encouraging news today….
New Republic Online is quotes the NYTs’ Ed Wong:
Certainly because we withdrew from the elections, that doesn’t mean we won’t be part of the drafting of the constitution,” said Sheik Moayad Ibrahim al-Adhami, a senior member of the Muslim Scholars Association, which says it represents 3,000 mosques and is the most influential Sunni group to call for an election boycott. “The elections are one matter; the constitution is another.”
This is a very good thing. The fear was that the Sunni groups were not only going to boycott the elections, but also the resulting Constitutional process.
That looks not to be the case now, though it does send a clear message to the Occupying Forces on what the Sunnis think.
Hopefully the majority Shia government that will probably take power will welcome the Sunni input. I believe they will as Ali Sistani has made his moderate, and inclusive, position abundantly clear over the past 2 years.
The one major question that remains, though seems to be this:
Will the Sunnis require the new government to squeeze an “Exit date” out of the foreign troops in order from the Sunnis to participate? It wouldn’t be surprising given the will of their supporters and their actions up until the election.
Only time will tell… the clock starts on Sunday.
I predict that a LOT of Sunnis will vote in spite of the Mullahs’ boycott. Not too long to wait now…just 2 days from now.
No matter what happens in the election, don’t look for the terrorism to stop. It will go on unabated for a loooong time but eventually they will be defeated by the bravery of the Iraqis who want their country back.