Juan Cole: Forbidding Car Traffic Makes Iraqi Vote Invalid

Kaus reads Juan Cole so that you don't have to:

The only way the vote will happen at all is that the US military has forbidden all vehicular traffic, so everyone has to walk for the next few days. This tactic prevents carbombings from disrupting the elections, but it is a desperate measure and not a sign of an election that could be certified as free and fair.

Yes, walking a mile or less to a polling place, or having to jump on a bus to get to one if you're in a farther-flung area, certainly makes the voting tainted.

It discriminates against... well, everyone. How can an election be fair if it discriminates against everyone?

It's not that they doubt the war can be won, and democracy brought to Iraq. It's that they're doubting their own doubts, and damnit, that just makes them more determined to force a defeat before victory can be achieved.

Ooops I Did It Again Update: I meant Juan Cole, not John Cole of Balloon-Juice. As the kids say, "My bad."

Thanks for the correction.

posted by Ace at 01:43 PM

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