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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (35914)	1/21/2004 10:35:57 PM
From: lurqer	Respond to of 89467

Plan D? US set to bow to Shi'ites over elections in Iraq The US-led coalition in Iraq is said to be on the verge of bowing to Shi'ite Muslim pressure for direct elections before a handover of power in June. British officials had been swayed by Shi'ite arguments and the US was also shifting ground, the Guardian newspaper reported yesterday. The American administrator for Iraq, Mr Paul Bremer, is said to have been persuaded of the need for direct elections, provided it can be shown that they would be practicable. 'Iraq could become a reasonably functioning democracy, or else it will eventually fall apart. Democracy loosens things up,' said a senior British official. He added that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had been telling US Secretary of State Colin Powell: 'The process is a bit like riding a bike. You have got to keep it moving, even if it wobbles all over the place.' A shift in plans for elections follows a series of abrupt coalition policy changes in the past few months, mainly forced by events on the ground, and will add to the sense of disarray in the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority. The authority has come under pressure from Iraq's most senior Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Tens of thousands of his supporters have staged protests demanding direct elections this summer. Until now, the US has said there is not enough time to organise such elections and they should be delayed until next year. Mr Straw has been arguing that the security situation would be significantly better if full elections could be staged. straitstimes.asia1.com.sg >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If this is "the way the wind blows", I suspect the Kurds and various tribal leaders may be opposed. JMO lurqer