Semantics. Maybe somebody said we’re not supposed to technically call this ‘voting’, but we do distinguish between this referendum and the ‘elections’ that will happen in December. We say ‘polling’ a lot.
Another related issue is the whole ‘how much is the Army helping’ issue. We’re completely aware of the political and philosophical concerns of actually – or appearing to – be helping the Iraqis too much. But it’s also a practical issue. At the higher levels I’ve debated with UN and State officials about where that line is. It gets very fuzzy and ambiguous and the language is florid but doesn’t say much. But the sergeants have figured it out. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard, “We’ve gotta let these Iraqis do their thing. It’s their job now.” Or something along those lines, usually in less polite terms. Without the expletives, I believe the UN would agree.
