George Will on the Iraqi referendum


The noted columnist makes some very good points and doesn't pull the punches
George Will writes on the Iraqi election, and he is not convinced.

The administration's theory, which cannot be dismissed as foolish just because it is dogmatically cheerful, or because history contains ominous counterexamples, is that there could not have been a bad outcome from last weekend's vote: The mere fact of voting, by drawing Iraq's tribal factions into politics, enmeshes them in the democratic process and its civilities.

Perhaps. But from 1929 through 1933 the turnout in German elections was especially high, because so were the stakes. In Germany's turmoil the issues included which mobs would control the streets and which groups would be persecuted. In Iraq's turmoil the issues include, or are thought by many Iraqis to include, the same things.

The Bush administration deserves high praise for overseeing the drafting and ratification of Iraq's constitution, another hurdle in the administration's transformative war to remake an entire region. The administration should, however, refrain from further strained analogies between Iraq today and America at its constitutional founding.

Mr. Will has several points. Yes, I supported the Iraqi war because I don't see any other solution that would defuse future 9-11 type events. At least none short of reducing a dozen or so cities to radioactive glass, which would almost certainly escalate to a World War.

But the Bush Administration fumbled the ball on several vital points, and it has only been the determination of the Iraqis that has brought the situation to this point this fast. Honestly, I did not expect an Iraqi Constitution before 2015 at the earliest.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Tue - October 18, 2005 at 04:56 AM  Tag


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