Delaying the Elections

Former President of the Iraqi Governing Council, Adnan Pachachi has a column in the Washington Post urging that the Iraqi elections be delayed. Pachachi acknowledges that such a delay would be a victory for the insurgents, but feels that it is better for the nation's long term stability to let the insurgents win round one than to put in power a government who most Iraqis will consider illegitimate. I agree with his reasoning on this point, but underlying the decision to delay is an assumption that if the election is held later on security (and thereby voter turnout) will be better. I see nothing to justify that assumption, and, in fact, the insurgents may be emboldened by their success at having forced a delay in the first case.