Iraqi Elections Postponed. Again.

The latest news from Iraq today—Iraqi lawmakers have failed to reach an agreement on the status of Kirkuk, thus ensuring that provincial elections will not occur this year.

As the Washington Post notes:

Several Iraqi lawmakers said U.S. pressure could throw Iraq into further political chaos.

"The Americans are pushing for the elections at any price, and that is incorrect," said Mahdi al-Hafidh, a Community Party lawmaker. "The country is not quiet, and there is not a good climate for this election."

"There's no way to find a solution to a 100-year-old problem in days," said Mahmoud Othman, an independent Kurdish legislator. "Mr. Bush is pressing the Iraqi politicians to make a fast deal, but this kind of pressure will have a negative result on Iraq's situation.

Yet another indication that the Iraqis themselves must find their own solutions in order to govern effectively. Our troops could stay in Iraq for 100 years and they wouldn’t be able to get to the root of many of the countries' troubles. Today's Iraqi problems require an Iraqi solution, and a political one at that.