US hopes of secular Iraqi state fade away

[kpete]

US hopes of secular Iraqi state fade away
Email Print Normal font Large font By Paul McGeough Chief Herald Correspondent in Baghdad
December 21, 2005

Conservative religious parties have surged to a runaway lead in the counting of votes to appoint a government to run Iraq for the next four years.

With more than 60 per cent of votes tallied, Washington's hopes that the former prime minister Iyad Allawi might pull enough support to build a secular administration have faded dramatically.

Instead, a religious alliance is in the box seat. These parties are already imposing a strict religious code on daily life across swathes of the country and are closely aligned with neighbouring Iran, one of George Bush's "axis of evil" enemies.

The religious Shiites and the Kurdish parties have maintained their iron grip on the south and north respectively, but with 89 per cent of votes counted in the Baghdad melting pot, both Dr Allawi and his arch rival and one-time Pentagon darling, Ahmed Chalabi, face marginalisation.
http://smh.com.au/news/world/us-hopes-of-secular-iraqi-state-fade-away/2005/12/20/1135032020005.html

[fooj]

1. Everything the prick touches turns to crap.

Peace.

[Quixote1818]

2. Well, it was still worth the limbs of 20,000 Americans

and the lives of 100,000 Iraqi civilians. It's certainly worth the $500 billion we are spending their. It's worth the rest of the world losing respect for us.

All this death to give Iran more power. Great job Bush!

[Cults4Bush]

3. k&r'd. n/t