Missed Opportunity or New Beginning
The January 30 th Electuions in Iraq did not throw any unexpected surprises. As we predicted the Shia political groups under Sistani are poised for a strong showing at the polls. The ignomious defeat of Iyad Allawi again was not unexpected. Most Iraqis regard him as a collaborator and he does not enjoy yhe trust of ordinary Iraqis. This result will mean that the Sunnis are under represented in the New National Assembly, and the Shia leadership has shown courage and statesemanship by inviting the Sunnis to join the political process and participate in the drafting of the constitution. It remains to be seen what position the new government will take on the occupation by the "coalition of the willing".
The USA does not have too many options right now. The task of reconstruction of the civic and industrial infrastructure of Iraq has proceeded all too slowly. Of the 33 billion $ earmarked by Congress for the Reconstruction on ly n 1.5 billion has been spent. The level of corruption in the Government is appaling. The USA needs to rebuild its bridges with the Shia leadership. This is especially important because the awr drums are now beginning to beat on the Iran front.