To all those liberal pundits who were naively fooling themselves about the prospective Shiite victory in the coming Iraqi elections - I don't want to say I told you so, but I told you so. (see my post, Monday 27th December)
In a surprise press conference on Sunday, the International Herald Tribune reports, "leaders of the Shiite-dominated coalition that is expected to prevail in national elections sought to dispel fears that they are under the secret sway of Iran, or have any desire to create an Islamic theocracy."
"They also said that if their coalition gains power it would not demand the immediate withdrawal of American troops, but would wait instead for a stronger Iraqi military."
The press conference was held by the prominent Shiite cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim and well known secular Shiite Ahmed Chalabi, who has previously been accused of being a CIA agent.
Chalabi set out the coalitions position very clearly:
: "First, we do not want any interference in the Iraqi elections; second, the alliance is not about an Islamic republic or a theocratic state, it is about democracy and pluralism, and third, we will need American forces to be in Iraq for the foreseeable future."
So...four more years it is then. Can we get over the vain hope that the Shiite's will insist on ending the US' agony in Iraq any sooner than all the major players have obviously agreed they will, now?
No comments:
Post a Comment