Zarqawi supporters win seats in local polls in Iraq

[ECH1969]

Supporters of al-Qa'eda in Iraq have used the elections staged by the United States to gain positions of political power, the American military believes.

According to senior officers based in Anbar province, an insurgent stronghold in western Iraq, al-Qa'eda-linked politicians have gained seats in local elections to provincial assemblies.

Al-Qa'eda was virulently opposed to the national elections held in Iraq last year, describing the votes in January and December as a "trick of Satan" and promising to kill anyone who voted. But the news that some of the organisation's supporters have gained seats at the local level illustrates both how it has adapted its tactics and the level of penetration it has achieved in Iraqi society.

Although the organisation, headed by the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, originally consisted primarily of foreign fighters, it now has many Iraqi supporters, with one US official estimating that Iraqis have made up a majority of its active members since the middle of last year.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/23/walqa23.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/01/23/ixworld.html
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Until the Arab wold achieves a certain degree of seperation of religion and politics and increased education, democracy will not produce good governments. We have our own problems in that area.

[RufusEarl]

1. Interesting!

"Democracy will not work in the Arab world as it stands today. We are seeing that as clear as day. Until the Arab wold achieves a certain degree of seperation of religion and politics and increased education, democracy will produce governments more based on who religious leaders tell the people to vote for then who will best serve their interests".

Just replace Arab world with USA, and you have the same problem.

[ECH1969]

2. The US has certain segments of its population

that blindly follow religious leaders. But, I don't see them as more then the hard core Republican base.

[RufusEarl]

4. Agreed, but the Republican hard core base vote.

And they vote blindly, most vote against their on personal interest.

[ECH1969]

5. Exactly

[ECH1969]

3. Education will be the long term cure

to this problem in the US and the Arab world.

[KingFlorez]

6. This is what troops died for?

So terrorists can win elections? I bet the repukes will spin this as good.

[ECH1969]

7. The Repukes live in their own little world