Say what? - Iraq's defense minister suggested the election could be postponed to give officials time to convince Sunnis to take part.

On 08-10-04 I had a post entitled "Kerry said what about Iraq? - Be careful here Senator." It noted:

"Responding to President Bush's challenge to clarify his position, Sen. John F. Kerry said Monday that he still would have voted to authorize the war in Iraq even if he had known then that U.S. and allied forces would not find weapons of mass destruction."

The post also noted:

"Is Kerry going to continue allowing the President to set the agenda? The article goes on to list a series of questions Kerry asked Bush following his saying "yes" (it was not an unqualified yes, but for political and practical purposes, it might as well have been). Bush, of course, will not answer a one. He will not let Kerry set his agenda.

"We will hear more about this Kerry 'yes' between now and November -- especially during the debates -- than his earlier I did but I didn't."

And we did. When I heard and read what Kerry had said at the Grand Canyon, I said to myself, "Damn, there goes the election. The stupid S.O.B."
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I have a similar, strong reaction from reading today that amid Iraqi violence, there is now serious talk delaying the Jan. 30 national election. Iraq's defense minister has suggested the election could be postponed to give officials time to convince Sunnis to take part -- a striking departure from the position usually taken by U.S. and Iraqi officials.

Of course Iraq's Shiite majority has insisted on going forward with the election, while Sunnis, who enjoyed political power under Saddam Hussein, want to delay the election, citing the harrowing security situation.

I know it a tough call for the U.S.; delaying the vote could outrage the Shiites, while a vote without Sunni participation could lack legitimacy.

This reminds me of the 1996 Olympics. I had been in Athens for a soccer game, and was headed for Altanta when the word came on about the Olympic Park bombing. Someone in the family questioned whether we should cancel. Heck no I said, this is just what whoever did this wants, and we continued driving to Atlanta.

It seems to me that delaying the elections is just what the terrorists wants. I know this -- just as was my reaction to continuing on drive to Atlanta -- is not rocket scientist stuff. But to see the defense minister suggest it seems to indicate some slippage, maybe a prelude to an announcement.

I learned long ago that those close to things are usually much more qualified in making a call that those of us sitting back and waiting to second-guess. But not always.

Not with Kerry's dumb, stupid, idiotic answer. And I just don't see how postponing here can possibly advance the goal of cleaning up our mess in Iraq as best we can and getting our soldiers home as soon as practicable.

(Source: wsj.)