In 1864, 11 of the 36 United States did not participate in the presidential election. Was Abraham Lincoln's election therefore illegitimate? In 1868, three states did not participate in the election. Was Ulysses Grant's election illegitimate? There has been much talk that if the Iraqi election is held and some Sunni Arab provinces (perhaps three of the 18) do not participate, the election will be illegitimate. Nonsense. The election should be held. It should be open to everyone. If Iraq's Sunni Arabs - barely 20% of the population - decide they cannot abide giving up their 80 years of minority rule, tough luck.
RTWT.
UPDATE: Deacon over at POWERLINE has made an important criticism of Krauthammer's article - "I'm not a blind adherent to the pottery store view of Iraq -- 'you broke it, you bought it.' And I certainly agree that we should not lead the fight in Iraq indefinitely. However, I think that, in Krauthammer's institutionalized civil war scenario, our national interests would require more engagement than Krauthammer seems to envisage.
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