The Sunnis after the vote

Chicago Tribune's take on the Sunnis after the vote.

It was too soon to tell how many Sunnis will sit in Iraq's new parliament, Sheik Ahmad Taha said in his sermon. But he prayed that the minority sect's belated entry into electoral politics will, with the help of God, bring an end to bloodshed and "free our land from American occupation."

Expressed in different words, that aim is shared by the Bush administration and leaders across Iraq's sectarian and ethnic divides ...

Read more
I think that it is a hopeful sign that the Sunnis are more and more coming to agree with the Administration (although I'd bet the bank they neither know it or would believe it if they did).

More importantly, perhaps it will validate the view that if the Sunnis become more invested in the process, support for an Iraqi insurgency (differentiated from "foreign fighters" who have different aims and goals) will wane considerably.

Certainly the Shiites see it that way:

In Shiite mosques Friday, religious leaders declared the election a success, saying it had undermined the insurgency.

To what extent will that prove to be true?

But few expect the insurgents to hold fire for long, even as Sunnis elected to the new council press what amounts to a loosely defined insurgent agenda.

Only time will tell, and I certainly wish Iraq every success in the meantime.