Juan Cole - 12/24/05

20,000 Protest Election Fraud in Iraq
Leading Sunnis Scorned as Baathists

The question of whether the December 15 elections might contribute to social peace in Iraq (always a chancy proposition) began to clarify on Friday.

The guerrilla war raged with full fury, as two GIs were killed in Baghdad by a roadside bomb. A suicide bomber on a bicycle killed 10 persons and wounded others at a Shiite mosque in Baladruz northeast of Baghdad. The death toll from an attack on an Iraqi army base in the north rose to 10. A bomber targeted a British convoy in Basra, but missed.

Kashmir Earthquake Victims

Tens of thousands of earthquake victims in Pakistani Kashmir are facing winter with inadequate shelter, medicine and food.

John Walbridge of Indiana University writes:

You might want to inform your readers about how to best support earthquake relief. Apart from the obvious major organizations like the Red Cross, your readers might wish to consider the Edhi Foundation. Abd al-Sattar Edhi is a Pakistani counterpart of Mother Theresa who runs a universally respected and trusted network of charities throughout Pakistan, including most of the country's ambulance services.

Iraqi Elections: Post-Election Coalition Possibilities

An informed reader writes:

' “Moreover, a group of Sadrists, the Messengers, ran separately from the UIA in the south and are getting 3% of the seats.”

There is no such group in the IECI release in English. [Some have suggested that it might be the "Progressive" party listed by IECI, which seems to fit the description.]