Looks like someone is out there on the streets doing some reporting. Should we trust the Iraqi press? If yes, this is a surprising article. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20050117/wlnm/iraqelectionpolldc

While I think holding an election is a positive step anywhere, my concern is that in the particular case of Iraq, they will not be the pivotal turning point the White House is making them to be. For one, the election is not about choosing an Iraqi leader for the country, but rather a parliament whose main job will be to draft the country's future constitution (or as many suspect, give the seal of approval to a document already drafted by the US occupation forces that will legitimize their presence and the privatization of Iraqi infrastructure/natural resources), nevermind the parties cannot post the list of their running members out of fear of assasinations, not to mention the secrecy surrounding polling places, bans on traffic, curfews, and what you got is an election in which most probably the largest voting block will be Iraqis in the diaspora. And while there's nothing wrong with them voting, you have to wonder how accurate the results will be as a reflection of the Iraqis that will ultimately have to live with the outcome.

So, I suspect it will be as pivotal, as May 2003's Mission Accomplished, or the capture of Saddam, or maybe the "handling of sovereignity" back to the Iraqis... remember that one? funny, eh?

Maybe more pivotal could be Bush's acknowledgment today, that the war in Iraq had helped Islamic extremists in their public relations battle with the United States. I'm Shocked, Shocked, I Tell ya!