The Grassroots vs. the politicians in Iraq

The Belmont Club:

...

Iraq the Model argues that this is setting up tension between the political class and the average man. In his apparent view the public mood is far more favorable to reconciliation than the politicians who are stonewalling for partisan gain and he is worried about how this tension will be resolved.

...

The one silver lining in this situation is that the tension is actually being caused by conflict between two parallel "realities". The reality in the field has been running in favor of the Coalition, at least if Robert Burns is to be believed. But the reality in the political halls has been running against. These two worlds are now in conflict. When one speaks of a "grassroots" rebellion in American or Western terms, it is easy to imagine a deluge of emails, letters to the editor, outraged phone calls and demonstrations before elected officials. But how is the tension between local organizations and central government officials in a country where there is very little previous tradition of local governance resolved? We are about to find out, or not find out, in the next 30 days.

Saddam learned the perils of ignoring the sheiks and found out how much he needed them to survive. It may take an election to get that message across to the current political class in Baghdad. Make no mistake that the people are fed up with the violence of the insurgents and they are not in a mood to watch political gamesmanship. Unfortunately they will probably be seeing it in their parliament and in our congress. Smarter politicians would seize the moment.