Posted on 06/23/2006 9:34:24 AM PDT by oxcart
KUWAITIS go to the polls next week to elect a new National Assembly, which will in turn approve a new prime minister and Cabinet.
The Kuwaitis will be making history for a number of reasons. This is the first election in which women are allowed to vote. And - much to the chagrin of Islamists, who insist that women are unfit to play any role in politics - a number of women are standing, often on platforms of radial social and economic reforms.
With a native population of 1 million, Kuwait is one of the smallest states in the Arab League. Yet its election is certain to have an important impact on broader Arab politics.
The exercise will help consolidate the idea of holding elections as a means of securing access to power - something new and still fragile in most Arab states. Days before the Kuwaitis were due to go to the polls, the United Arab Emirates announced that it, too, would opt for a parliamentary system based on elections. This means that all but five of the Arab states are now committed to holding reasonably clean elections at municipal and/or national levels.
Some of this new interest in elections is due to the impact of Iraq on the broader Arab imagination. With a mixture of admiration and terror, Arab ruling elites saw how Saddam Hussein's regime - regarded as the strongest of the Arab despotic structures in recent memory - collapsed within three weeks. The message was clear: An Arab regime without some mandate from the people is never more than a house of cards.
Next, the Arab masses saw millions of Iraqis lining up to cast ballots in several local elections, a referendum and two general elections, all within a couple of years.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
They would all be voting for Saddaam Hussein if not for our intervention in 1990 - 91.
Move along, nothing to see here.
Bush's fault!
Had to say it!
:0)
Islam has half of the population living under the thumb of the other half. What do female Muslims get out of Islam? Not much, even if they live in the west and are unassimilated.
One of the keys to neutralizing the threat of Islam to the lives and well-being of the rest of us is to harness the discontent and frustration of Muslim women. If anyone will cause Islam to reform and modernize, it is the women. They have much to gain and nothing to lose.
Hey! I'm not the one who mentioned Ann!
:0)
And a mighty good thread it is!
We Democrats must oppose this. It is not a democracy sactioned by liberal principals. It must be opposed. Women can have the vote later.
/Sarcasm OFF
That's right Nancy, it must be a democracy which we can turn into socialism. Remember "We will take away from you for the Common Good" just like here in America. I defy this Adminstration to Oppose the Democratic party on this matter!
/Sarcasm OFF
LOL, I am glad it is after lunch.
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