By our standards, it won't be. You would have to be totally detached from reality to think it's going to be a free and fair election by anything close to our standards.
It doesn't have to be by our standards. But there are mechanisms for ensuring that vote fraud is minimal. We certainly can't guarantee that intimidation and vote buying won't occur, but the Iraqis have the right to sell their vote and suffer the repercussions of their actions.
Admittedly, the Iraqi urban population has a better grasp of $, but they are also going to look at their own oil reserves, under their control.
I fully advocate placing Iraqi oil production and the benefits derived from that under the control of the Iraqi people.. I do not advocate placing it under the control of some non-accountable crony..
If you recall, I've supported the creation of an Iraqi oil trust, into which royalties are paid for the DIRECT benefit of the Iraqi population (ala Alaskan permanent fund). It will give them direct ownership of the oil.. And few people will tolerate those who would take $$$ out of their pockets (insurgents and dictators).
Is that so bad? Why not decentralize the distribution channel for Iraqi oil revenues, minus what might be required for reconstruction, and force any Iraqi government to be accountable for how they earn and spend that money?
I would suggest that the only viable option that the US has is to begin withdrawing [right now] all Coalition Forces from areas in Iraq that are relatively peaceful and make a huge PR deal of it; illustrating that the US is not an occupier. According to the Administration, this is a large segment of Iraq. If the local governments want a coalition presence to remain, let them publicly beg for it on Al Jazeera.
I think that's a good idea (are you surprised?.. ;0)
Because, IMO, the goal HAS TO BE for the Iraqis to govern themselves and establish their own security.
But we have to make it known that if they attempt to become their own little warlord and challenge the national government (or CPA authority), they will be confronted.
But most of all, all this BS with the UN displaying its reluctance to fulfill its charter obligations with regard to trusteeship of countries where Chapter VII enforcement measures have resulted in a change of government.
The UN would like to claim that this was merely a US decision to invade.. But that is not substantiated by their own 15-0 vote to declare Iraq in material breach of its cease fire obligations. They voted for a UNSC binding resolution that member nations were mandated to enforce, and then tried to delay and obfuscate.
But now that Saddam has been overthown, The UN CAN NO LONGER avoid their responsibility to rebuild and establish a government reflective of the values of the UN charter under their authority of the UN Trusteeship Council (Chapter XIII).
globalpolicy.org
And now that we have the "goods" on France and Russia with regard to the oil for food scandal, we might just have an opportunity to implement it..
Hawk |
