[oracle]

Sorry George, but Iraq has given you the purple finger

Guardian

ouch, writes with a biting sting, this Naomi!

So it is with Betsy Hart and the other near-sighted election observers. They think the Iraqi people have finally sent America those long-awaited flowers and sweets, when Iraq's voters just gave them the (purple) finger

It turns out that on American television, the entire occupation has been one long episode of the reality TV show Fear Factor, in which Iraqis overcome ever more challenging obstacles to demonstrate the depths of their desire to win their country back.

Iraq's elections were delayed time and time again while the occupation and resistance grew ever more deadly. Now it seems that two years of bloodshed, bribery and backroom arm-twisting were leading up to this: a deal in which the ayatollahs get control over the family, Texaco gets the oil, and Washington gets its enduring military bases (call it the "oil-for-women programme"). Everyone wins except the voters, who risked their lives to cast their ballots for very different policies.

Edited on, February 12, 2005, 12:05 PM GMT, by oracle.