Juan Cole: Why the Sunnis voted

i'm delighted that they voted, i'm delighted with the turnout, and i'm delighted that the violence abated long enough for people to get to the polls, but i'm with prof. cole... given what's been happening since our illegal invasion, i'm not ready to point to anything and call it a success...

According to wire services, Sunnis in Fallujah came out to vote:

'...not only to get rid of the Americans but to also get rid of the Shiite-dominated government.

"It's an extremist government [and] we would like an end to the occupation," said Ahmed Majid, 31. "Really the only true solution is through politics. But there is the occupation and the only way that will end is with weapons."

Even in insurgent bastions such as Ramadi and Haqlaniyah, Sunnis were turning out in large numbers.

"I came here and voted in order to prove that Sunnis are not a minority in this country," said lawyer Yahya Abdul-Jalil in Ramadi. "We lost a lot during the last elections, but this time we will take our normal and key role in leading this country." '

It is not actually a positive sign for the Americans that Sunni Arabs came out to vote in order to get rid of them, to see if they couldn't get rid of the current pro-American government, to underline that the armed struggle will continue, and to prove that Sunni Arabs (20% of so of the population) are a majority of the country! The American faith that if people go to the polls it means they won't also be blowing things up is badly misplaced.

prof. cole goes on to cite examples from northern ireland and sinn fein where sinn fein's gaining seats in the ulster assembly in 1982 didn't mean diddly insofar as reducing violence was concerned...

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