Good news from Iraq

The Red Star publishes a news story today from AP, titled "Sunnis face tough political dilemma". The report is that the Sunnis are now facing a decision to participate in the fledgling democracy, or remain outside of the political process, leaving them further marginalized.

The Jan. 30 boycott was widely perceived by Sunnis as a disaster, handing control of the 275-member National Assembly to Shiites and Kurds. The Shiite-Kurd alliance then pushed through the legal foundation for purging thousands of Sunni Arabs from government jobs because of membership in Saddam's Baath Party.

Instead, Sunnis are being exhorted to register and vote to reject the constitution in the referendum. The very Sunni clerics who railed last January against an election "under foreign military occupation" are now urging their people to flock to the polls.

This should be front page news. The Sunnis are discovering that the only effective option for them to make their voices heard is to participate in the democratic process. Huzzah!

Vice President Ghazi al-Yawar, the highest-ranking Sunni in the transitional government, said Monday that Sunnis are unlikely to defeat the constitution. Instead, he said that Sunnis should look ahead to parliamentary elections in December and concentrate on winning enough seats to change the way the constitution is implemented.

That's exactly what they should do. If they're successful in implementing changes through the democratic process, then that's as it should be. They won't make changes by embracing terrorists, or through bombs, or protests. They'll make changes, if it's the people's will, through participatory democracy. And good luck to them.