Abstract

Iraq's Unpredictable Politics

Offers a reflection on the success of the 2005 elections in Iraq. Ability of Iraqis to participate in the political process; Report that Iraqi voters seized an opportunity to express themselves; Desire of Iraqis for freedom from fear and insurgency; Report that the author was opposed to the Iraq War but could still understand the importance of the elections for the reconstruction of Iraq; Question of how a popular election occurred under the unpopular military occupation of U.S. forces; Role of the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in demanding direct elections for the national assembly and in quelling the insurrection led by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr; Claim that the elections were a kind of Shiite uprising, led by al-Sistani; Report that the Shiites and Kurds participated in the voting, while Sunnis largely did not vote.