Mullah Nadhim preached open war on U.S. troops for years.
In Iraq, voters' fingers are dipped in ink so they can't vote multiple times.
He and many other Sunni Muslims in Iraq shunned elections and fought instead with roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades.
With provincial elections scheduled for autumn, however, Nadhim and other Sunnis say, they made a mistake by sitting out the elections in January 2005. Their absence at the polls, they say, resulted in less political power for Sunnis and more for Shiite Muslims and Kurds.
Now if someone would just let the Shiites know that they need to honor these elections, perhaps it might go better this time around. With Iran having the Shiites collective backs and no interest in allowing the Sunni's to establish a base inside the Iraqi borders, I am pessimistic about the long term outcome of this effort, but applaud the Sunni's willing to give it a try. Voting is always better than shooting (unless you are Beloved Glorious War Preznit Leader).
Whatever the date, one former member of the Ansar al Sunna militant group probably will be among those casting ballots. He said that spurning the last elections in favor of violence left Sunnis in Balad largely powerless.
"Right now, everything is being run by the Shiites," he said. "God willing, this time it will be better than before."
I hope so, no one in that country deserves what we did to them... and the violence just goes on.
