Consider

* Lebanese elected Hezbollah to political offices
* Palestinians elected Hamas to political offices

Iraq has no fewer than 5 separate insurgent groups. Some of them are very popular with the public. What if the Iraqi public elects Muqtada al-Sadr, or Al Qaeda to the parliament? Will the United States, having spent $500 billion plus dollars and years helping build the government, turn around and refuse to deal with them as they did Palestinians? The US administration has put itself into a no-win position.

insurgent groups in iraq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_insurgency#Shiite_militia

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Are there Al Queda people running for office in Iraq?

Are there Al Queda people running for office in Iraq?

They're probably already in.


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They're probably already in.


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i don't think so. i'm pretty sure we have a good understanding of who are actually al-qaeda operatives, and they're looking to destabilize things violently and immediately, not get elected. as far as the insurgent groups, we have made gestures to them in the past. i would guess there is room for them in the government....so long as they play by the rules....whatever those are.

they're looking to destabilize things violently and immediately, not get elected.

Hezbollah and Hamas once looked to destabilize things immediately.

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If Iraqis elect a group that has declared war on the US, then the US will have to deal with a government that wants war with us, and we know how to do that.

We'll invade a country we already occupy?? :eek7:


I'd wager that a good number of the Iraqi elected officials sympathise with Al-Queda.

Hezbollah and Hamas once looked to destabilize things immediately.

-And since their election. what has happened?

Hezbollah gets elected, doesn't play by their own governmental rules(unless their ARE rules that say it's OK to kidnap foreigners in their own land and shoot missiles across borders)...

...and now they get to play clean-up...

Hamas get eleted...since then, Israel had to go back into Gaza to root out the people shooting rockets across their border and half of Palestinian territory is on strike because the government can't pay them...

See how well that' worked?...:hmm:

After the mess we've made of Iraq, if the citizens are allowed to elect the government they want, I think it's a given that it will be unfriendly to the USA.
What if some other country came to "liberate" us from George Bush? Even those of us that hate Bush wouldn't be too happy about that, would we? And civilians dying wouldn't help matters either.

its a realistic possibility. they can then only hope that the iraki army will protect the democracy first, and politics second.

The Iraqi united alliance is the party that won the most votes in December 2005. Supporters of AL Sadr are amongst it's members, as are Al Sistanis. So he's already in the government.

but they are shjit, and al qiuaida is sunni. most democracies born out of conflict start with only radicals in parlement. if they are bound to the rules of democracy, it will mellow out eventually, and people will vote for others who give them a future instead of hate.

That was the point.
It's their country.
They can do with it as they see fit.

I don't think that that is a possiblility right now.

The fact is that alcheddar is only killing and violent while, loathsome, the other two have done significant humanitarian work.

We'll invade a country we already occupy?? :eek7:


I'd wager that a good number of the Iraqi elected officials sympathise with Al-Queda.

No, we're already there. We wouldn't have to invade. It's a pretty remote possibility, but I wouldn't put it past some of the freaks we're dealing with over there.