Quote of the day: Iraqi political culture

Anthony Shadid in the New York Times on the nature of Iraqi politics:

There is an Iraq that is rightly celebrated these days: images that have almost become clichéd of millions heading to the polls to elect leaders who have so far fallen far short of the ambitions in choosing them. There is the reality, too: a country that still hews to an older notion of politics in which, in the words of one politician, there are "absolute winners and absolute losers." Eloquent rules are noisily broken, in a milieu infused with an impetus toward intolerance. The threat of violence, and often violence itself, is the discourse of politics, sometimes even celebrated as a means to an end in dividing spoils.

When in doubt, the rule goes, intimidate.

This is going to make it very interesting if the elections comes down to Allawi vs. the Sadrists.