Distribution of seats in new Iraqi parliament...sorry, shrub!

[Career Prole]

From Juan Cole's excellent blog.

United Iraqi Alliance (Shiite): 133 seats
Kurdish Alliance: 71
Iraqiya (Allawi = Secular Shiites) 38
Iraqiyyun (al-Yawir= Sunni Arabs) 5
Turkmen Front of Iraq 3
Cadres and the Chosen (Sadrist Shiites) 3
People's Union (Communist) 3
Kurdish Islamic Coalition 2
Organization of Islamic Action (Shiite) 2
Democratic National Alliance (Abd Faisal Ahmad) 1
National Mesopotamian List (Christian) 1
Welfare and Liberation Bloc (Mash'an al-Juburi, Sunni) 1
Caucus for Iraqi National Unity (Nahru Muhammad Abdul Karim, Sunni) 1
Independent Democrats (Adnan Pachachi, Sunni) 1
Iraqi Islamic Party (Muhsin Abdul Hamid, Sunni; had withdrawn) 1
Islamic Dawa Movement (splinter of Dawa, headed by Adil Majid) 1
Iraqi National Caucus (Husain Muhammad Abdullah) 1
Constitutional Monarchy Movement (Sharif Ali b. Husain) 1
Royal Iraqi Hashimi Caucus (Sharif Ma'mul al-Naysan) 1
National Democratic Alliance (Malik Duhan al-Hasan) 1
Democratic Iraqi Caucus (Ahmad Jabir Abdullah) 1
National Front for Iraqi Unity 1

http://www.juancole.com/2005/02/distribution-of-seats-in-iraqi.html

That's not just a spanking for Allawi's pro-American gang, but a big raspberry at the shrub himself. Clearly the Diebold technical folks refused the chance to assist in this election.
I guess the hazardous duty pay was insufficient.

[The Straight Story]

1. Well, then are we saying this was all above the board, not rigged?

If so, why would bush plan 9/11, go into iraq, and then not fully rig the election? I am confused on this all now.

Is he that incompetent, have we overestimated him, or is there a new conspiracy theory on this I missed?

[Career Prole]

5. Truth be told, I think a civil war would be to the shrub's advantage

right now, and has been adapted as "Plan E", or wherever we are now. They couldn't hoodwink this election for Allawi without the world knowing. There were too many eyes, and that result would have been even more unlikely than the result we saw here in November.

I could just see them sitting in their little conference room in D.C. deciding that "letting" the Shi'ites win along with the constant inflaming of the Sunnis ("If the Sunnis boycott they'll be on the outside looking in", repeated ad nauseum) could very well ignite the civil war which we all fear but which the shrubites no doubt see now as an opportunity to extend their Iraq stay indefinitely.

If Iraq were to settle down, Sistani would give the U.S. troops the boot, but with a civil war a-brewin' Iraqi public opinion would quite likely be against that.

You are right in thinking the neocons had long-range plans for Iraq, but they've been forced to play it by ear since their first premise, that we'd be welcomed, was proven wrong.

[The Straight Story]

8. Well I see the point and all

It just seems odd given all the hoopla that bushy would not get what he was hoping for when he was supposed to be in control of everything.

I DO see the idea behind a longer range conspiracy, I just don't think bush would be the brains behind it (I would lean more towards a long range plan by, say lucifer, who was using bush to get his desires fulfilled). bush is a two term loser who will be remembered for letting 9/11 go down, bad economy, war, and debt.

How fast can we get 2008 here :) The bush regime will end then, and we can get on with other things. I don't see him as a master conspiracist controlling the world to his end - I see him as fumbling around, incompetent, and a poor leader who has no clue about domestic issues and less clues about foreign issues. In short, he is an idjit and I hope we can work to expose new legislation as it comes out - block it - and keep his ass at bay until he can be replaced.

[Career Prole]

10. I really feel the original plan ended with control of the Middle East

with Iraq as the jumping-off point...a plan which has gone hopelessly awry. Had it gone as they'd wished the election would have been carried out with much less scrutiny, and the American-backed candidate would have won a majority of the vote from the large numbers of flower-chucking Iraqis dancing in the streets all the way to their polling places. They weren't planning on the scrutiny or the unpopularity.
I really should be more careful about blaming the shrub. I realize he's just a figurehead for the PNACkers, and not quite as attractive (or clever) as the carved wood half-nekkid woman figureheads of old.

[Inland]

9. It was rigged, but like most Bush adventures in Iraq, incompetently done.

Think how badly Allawi would have done if there were a local republican machine to abuse the process.

[alcuno]

2. But wait! It takes a 67% vote of the Assembly to elect a prime minister.

UIA has to build a coalition because our guy and the Kurds have already put in together.

[Disturbed]

4. Diebold machines couldn't be used there...

because the electricity is highly unreliable. The vote was done by real ballots. Maybe we should go back to that for 2006 & 2008?

[Career Prole]

7. Those poor Kurds see this strong showing as a big step on their road

to independence.
How disheartened they'll be when they find out shrub won't allow such a thing. :shrug:

[whistle]

3. It looks like stalemate to me.....

UIA 133 seats
Other 140 seats

2/3 majority needed 182

so who can Bush buy?

[Bluebear]

6. No wonder it took so long to "tally" the votes

How long did they have to cook the numbers to come up with this "stalemate"?