The Failed Pacifist

The 75% Solution

Famously, Donald Rumsfeld yesterday said it is possible that only "three-quarters or four-fifths" of Iraq will be able to vote in January's scheduled elections.

"Well, so be it. Nothing's perfect in life, so you have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet,"

Of course, the problem with Mr. Rumsfeld passive-aggressive response is that nobody credible is proposing not having an election. A better question may be "Is it better to have elections available to 75% of the population in January, or 90% in March, or 95% in July?"

When does Mr. Rumsfeld expect Iraq to be safe enough for 90 or 95 percent of Iraqis to be able to vote without fear of being killed, regardless of whether they actually exercise that choice? I'm not sure if it's feasible to delay the election. But it's a bit disingenuous to suggest that it's either 75-80% or nothing at all.

posted by Doran @ 11:14 PM