This is one hell of a fractured country. I’m glad they are going through the mostly symbolic, but still important, act of voting. But that is of course only step one in building a country. The hard work hasn’t even begun.

Here are some interesting finds from a Zogby poll of Iraqis:

(76%) of Sunni Arabs say they definitely will not vote in the January 30 elections, while just 9% say they are likely to vote. A majority of Shiites (80%) say they are likely to vote or definitely will vote, as are a smaller majority of Kurds (57%).

Well, that’s pretty much what was expected. No surprise there.

Majorities of both Sunni Arabs (82%) and Shiites (69%) also favor U.S. forces withdrawing either immediately or after an elected government is in place.

Confirming what Ted Kennedy said — we’re part of the problem, not part of the solution. Good news for neo-cons who want to invade Iran though.

The poll also found that of Iraq’s ethnic and religious groups, only the Kurds believe the U.S. will “help” Iraq over the next five years, while half (49%) of Shiites and a majority (64%) of Sunni Arabs believe the U.S. will “hurt” Iraq.

Again, confirming Ted. Hey, will there be a day on LGF when we see a post to the effect that "Iraqis are ungrateful and fuck them"? Just wondering . . .

Here’s some good news: "Three-in-five (59%) favor a system where citizens are allowed to practice their own religion" . . .

But the bad news coda: ". . . while one-in-three (34%) would prefer an Islamic government."

Does anyone think THAT can be compromised away peacefully?

And finally, another non-surprise:

While a majority of Iraqis believe relations can be improved between Iraq and neighbors Kuwait, Turkey, and Iran, all ethnic and religious groups overwhelmingly rejected improving relations with the State of Israel.