The Iraqi elections have been a huge success with biggers turnouts than in western countries. And with a vast number of candidates taking part in the democratic proccess. The Iraqi people from their huge enthusiastic response to the elections and their thirst for democracy disprove all the doomongers.

If you disagree then just ask the Iraqi people what they think of the new democratic system in Iraq. Also as for interfering in the internal political proccess of an occupied country, isn't that what western countries did in occuppied Germany, and Japan after World War II? And what fine democratic nations they have turned out to be. No one bleats on about the setting up of democracies in those countries as being illegal. It seem the only people who don't want the new Iraq to be a success are the terrorists and the anti-war movement.

Germany and Japan were the aggressors in the official version of the second world war whereas Iraq most definitely was not the aggressor in the current situation.

"The Iraqi elections have been a huge success with biggers turnouts than in western countries."

Right. And every time this occurs, the Iraqis state that they are voting because they believe this will make the Foreign Aggressor leave their borders.

Read Seymour Hersh. The officials have all been bribed, with portions of the BILLIONS plundered from the Iraqi Treasury.

"If you disagree then just ask the Iraqi people what they think of the new democratic system in Iraq."

You mean those people marching angrily through the streets, chanting about vote fraud ... ?

"Also as for interfering in the internal political proccess of an occupied country, isn't that what western countries did in occuppied Germany, and Japan after World War II?"

Yes, but the law applies to states who have illegally invaded and occupy a nation, as is the case with Iraq and the US/UK/Israel. There is no legitimacy to this process.

"It seem the only people who don't want the new Iraq to be a success are the terrorists and the anti-war movement."

I want the country to be a success. It cannot do this while under occupation, or the proxy rule of a foreign country. When the British left, there was no civil war. The story will be the same when the Americans and British are tossed out. How many poor kids will have died for Bush/PNAC mania depends on how soon the People come to their senses and demand Justice.

I'd love to, but I live quite a way from Bahgdad. Pray tell how exactly you managed to ask the Iraqi people Mr Concerned? Or did you just see them interviewed on Fox News?

Quote: "Germany and Japan were the aggressors in the official version of the second world war whereas Iraq most definitely was not the aggressor in the current situation."

Oh yes Iraq most definitely was an aggressor, for decades it terrorised and persecuted the Kurds, it attacked Iran causing a war which cost one million lives. It invaded Kuwait causing a war which cost tens of thousands of lives. Then after it was kicked out of Kuwait suppressed a popular uprising by the Kurds and Shias causing two million to flee the country as refugees and killing hundreds of thousands more. Iraq was also a sponser of international terrorism. It harboured the worlds most notorious terrorist mastermind Abu Nidal and had been a base for the PLO in the 1970s and 1980s. The PLO had a headquarters in Bagdad back then. And although the theory of co-operation with Al Qaeda is not proven there was some contact and dialogue between the two, however light.

The reason for the war by the allies to oust the Iraq regime was also because it had consistantly refused to comply with UN ceasefire regulations imposed after the first Gulf War. It had continually threatened and obstructed UN weapons inspectors and prevented them from doing their job which was to search for and destroy all of Iraq's chemical, biological and long range missiles.

Fu*k off, Spook.

Chalabi likely to succeed in new Iraq government, despite controversy
By Dogen Hannah and Nancy A. Youssef
Knight Ridder Newspapers

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Even though Ahmad Chalabi apparently lost badly in last month's parliamentary election here, the former Pentagon favorite is still likely to be a big player in the next Iraqi government.

The Dec. 15 vote went largely to ethnic and sectarian coalitions at the expense of secular slates, including his, preliminary returns indicate. That could leave him without a seat in parliament.

Yet the former exile who helped spur the U.S.-led invasion by feeding false intelligence to Washington about Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction, and who returned to Iraq after Saddam's fall to craft himself into a political leader, still has more cards to play. Characteristically, Chalabi, 61, could land on his feet in a high government post even though he failed to win even a minimum of votes from the Iraqi people.

"He is a very experienced politician," said political scientist Hazim Abdulhameed al-Nuaimi of Baghdad's Mustansiriya University. Chalabi has "the ability to retreat and start from zero."

At a minimum, Chalabi, a secular Shiite, has maintained good relations across Iraq's major ethnic and sectarian divides.

Furthermore, as Iraq has endured almost three years of post-invasion unrest, Chalabi's supporters have portrayed him as an astute technocrat, an asset to any ruling coalition aiming to restore order and prosperity. He was educated at the University of Chicago and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"I think most, if not all, political parties know what Ahmad Chalabi's capable of," said Haider al-Moussawi, one of his key aides. "They still want to have Ahmad Chalabi as part of any team."

As political leaders haggle over power, the day-to-day running of a government that often cannot provide Iraqis necessities such as electricity and gasoline remains a critical task.

Last week Chalabi was picked to temporarily replace the ousted minister of oil.

"He wants to be close to the oil industry and its institutions in order to know it well, because it is the backbone now for any government," said al-Nuaimi. "If the security situation stabilizes, Chalabi can start promising huge investment projects for Iraq, and he could become popular from that."

While many ordinary Iraqis view Chalabi as a sneaky and corrupt outsider who brought U.S. forces to Iraq, Adil Abdel Mahdi, one of Iraq's two vice presidents and a member of the governing alliance, describes him as "an important figure. ... No one wants to get rid of him."

Other key alliance members similarly praise Chalabi, but nonetheless suggest that his lack of support at the polls will undercut his position when it comes time to negotiate posts in the new government. Preliminary returns show that his slate fell far short of the 8 percent to 10 percent that his party, the Iraqi National Congress, expected to get in predominantly Shiite provinces.

"I think dealing with him in the next government is possible, yet the reality of the electoral returns sets the scene," said Abdul Khaleq Zangana, of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, a member of the governing coalition. "Being outside the government does not mean an end to his political career."

Abbas al-Bayati of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a key member of the United Iraqi Alliance, agreed that while Chalabi overestimated his influence at the polls, "elections are not the end."

"In all, he managed to wield momentum and accumulated experience that qualify him to play a vital role in the political process," al-Bayati said.

Although Chalabi fell out of favor with Washington after the pre-war intelligence he supplied turned out to be false, lately they have indicated that he should remain in the government. In what some observers here took as a reference to Chalabi, U.S. officials have said the new government should be composed of competent people.

Al-Moussawi, the Chalabi aide, indicated that U.S. officials and his boss have mended their relationship. "On some issues there were some disagreements, and I think most of those disagreements have been resolved lately."

Taha al-Luheibi, spokesman for the Dialogue Council, a member of the main Sunni coalition, said the record suggested that Chalabi will not be content with a minor role. "His ambition last year was to be prime minister. ... Now, he's looking to be the same thing, or at least to be a minister."

Knight Ridder correspondents Ahmed Mukhtar, Shatha al-Awsy and Zaineb Obeid contributed to this report.