The Iraqi Political Ban: An Update

The Iraqi Presidency, led by President Jalal Talabani, has asked a court to rule on the ban of some 500 political figures from the forthcoming elections, seeking to play down the controversial move. Elsewhere Robert Dreyfus interprets it as an Iranian power play. Meanwhile, Reidar Visser remains the go-to blogger for the details.

The US has wagered so much of its disengagement calendar in Iraq on successful elections that anything jeopardizing a fair election — and it's hard for anyone except a Shi‘ite ideologue to argue that this doesn't jeopardize it — could complicate the whole withdrawal strategy. Talabani's move is presumably intended to find a way of defusing this. I have no idea if it will work.