British Say Open Elections Feasible

The Financial Times is reporting that British authorities in Basra now believe that there are no procedural obstacles to holding open elections in Basra of the sort that Grand Ayatollah Sistani has called for: Whether this is true or not, it is hard to see the British announcement as anything but payback for the way the CPA has ordered them about like lackeys since the fall of Saddam. The statement puts Mr. Bremer in a very difficult situation.

The British may in part been driven to this announcement by pure fear. The demonstrations in Basra last Thursday were huge.