What's Worrying Iraqi Voters

I had originally bookmarked this Independent article for a news brief but the bulk of it is just another "what will the Shias do when they win" piece. And since absolutely nobody has the least real idea yet, and there were other, better articles on the subject it was passed over.

However, re-reading it I started to think about the last section, which I will now quote in full:

Despite the ever-present threat of a suicide bombing or US troops opening fire at random, security is not the main issue for Iraqi voters. They can avoid those dangers if they keep clear of military or police checkpoints, but everyone is affected by the endless shortages of everything from petrol to electricity.

Fuel: In the Jadriyah district of Baghdad, drivers sometimes sleep two nights running in their cars as they wait in a two-mile queue for petrol. Black market fuel is available, but it is often 30 times the normal price, heightening the anger of a country with the world's second-largest oil reserves.

Power: Electricity supply is worse than ever. At the end of last year, the last time for which there are official figures, only 845MW of electricity was available in Baghdad, compared with 2,500MW under Saddam Hussein.Iraqis largely blame the US for the collapse of infrastructure.

Water: Although water supplies remain erratic, this is less of a problem in winter than it is in summer. However, if water shortages this year are as bad as they were last year in the heat of summer, public fury is likely to erupt.

Communications: Mobile phones, banned by Saddam, were welcomed in Baghdad after the invasion. But by the end of last year they were often failing to work for days at a time because the company in charge had sold too many, and the equipment it installed was overburdened.

Heating and cooking: It is surprisingly cold at night during winter, and Iraqis try to keep warm by huddling next to paraffin heaters. But paraffin is in short supply, and has risen in price from 1,500 Iraqi dinars to 7,500 dinars a litre. The price of domestic gas for cooking has shot up even more steeply.

Reconstruction: In the aftermath of the first Gulf War, a decade ago, Iraq rapidly rebuilt its bridges and patched up power stations and refineries. Iraqis often contrast this with the dismal failure of the US and its Iraqi allies since 2003. [emphasis mine] Construction materials like cement are expensive. Cement plants can only operate part time because they lack electricity.

The story was filed by Patrick Cockburn, in Baghdad, so it isn't just an op-ed by some pundit in a swivel chair (oh...like I am...).

Surely someone in the halls of power should be worried about the fact that the 'coalition of the gullible' is being compared unfavourably to Saddam by the ordinary Iraqi on the basis of getting things done. Pretty son, like Russia after Yeltsin, the guy on the street starts to hanker after the old ways of dictatorship because at least there was bread in the shops - and then along comes a Putin figure to give them what they hanker for and the guy in the street votes for him.

Meanwhile, and closely related, my friend Shirrin draws my attention to Riverbend's blog 'Baghdad Burning' for Saturday. In it, Riverbend recounts that :

There hasn’t been a drop of water in the faucets for six days. six days. Even at the beginning of the occupation, when the water would disappear in the summer, there was always a trickle that would come from one of the pipes in the garden. Now, even that is gone. We’ve been purchasing bottles of water (the price has gone up) to use for cooking and drinking. Forget about cleaning.

At Eid, One of the holiest times of year? To not be able to stay clean in house as well as body is a huge thing! It's on the level with denying Catholics the ability to go to confession. And it will be blamed on the coalitions feeble efforts at reconstruction. This is definitely not the way you win hearts and minds, folks. What idiot was so ignorant of moslem customs as to not see this coming and prioritise it?

Riverbend also talks about "collective punishment" - a topic I have posted on in previous news briefs:

I’m sure people outside of the country are shaking their heads at the words ‘collective punishment’. “No, Riverbend,” they are saying, “That’s impossible.” But anything is possible these days. People in many areas are being told that if they don’t vote- Sunnis and Shia alike- the food and supply rations we are supposed to get monthly will be cut off. We’ve been getting these rations since the beginning of the nineties and for many families, it’s their main source of sustenance. What sort of democracy is it when you FORCE people to go vote for someone or another they don’t want?

My reaction was "what the f***k?" Can anyone confirm this and if so what dumbass tinpot dick-tater authorised it?

Riverbend just became one of my "must read" blogs.