Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the link to Or Does It Explode? Awakening a Civil Rights Movement in the Middle East:
Three years ago on October 15, Iraqis went to the polls for a tense election showdown between Saddam Hussein and himself. The razor-thin margin of victory was a mere .01%… under 100%. Five months later, the referendum lead by US tanks and fighter jets produced a slightly different outcome.
Three years later, October 15 sees another election. This time, thanks to a relative lack of terror attacks, we get to see civil society in action on a national scale. The results of the constitutional referendum are not guaranteed – and so individual Iraqis seem to understand that their vote makes a difference in determining the outcome. And even if the constitution indeed passes, various interests groups will be able to continue to shape its form through parliamentary debate and negotiation.
From scanning through the archives back to 31 January 2005 (the source for the great blue fingers pic above), Or Does it Explode? looks like a resource to follow. The writer evidently protects his/her identity carefully – outside of free Iraq, there are few Middle East countries where a civil rights advocate could publish safely. But that is now beginning to change…
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