'..The sooner the exile-era leadership departs from the political scene — taking all their exile pettiness with them — the sooner a more prudent, moderate politics may emerge.'<blockquote>'So what causes are there for hope that Iraq will push through its post-ISIL crisis and move successfully into another decade? First, better and more moderate leaders are emerging. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is certainly more moderate in tone, if perhaps not in policy positions, than was his predecessor Nouri al-Maliki. Similarly, Dr. Salim al-Jabouri, the new (Sunni) Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, is much more moderate (again, at least in tone) than earlier opposition figures such as Tariq al-Hashemi, Ayad Allawi, or Osama al-Nujayfi. And new leadership is clearly needed, at least among the Sunni. The sooner the exile-era leadership departs from the political scene — taking all their exile pettiness with them — the sooner a more prudent, moderate politics may emerge.
..
Nonetheless, the United States remains vested in Iraq. It belongs in a small group — along with Lebanon and Tunisia — of deeply flawed and frustrating but nonetheless democratic Arab states. And it is from among this group that America must find its regional allies, despite occasional — or frequent — policy disagreements. Again, to repeat, democracy in Iraq is weak, immature, flawed, problematic, and fragile. But any reading of the literature on
states emerging from authoritarian rule would tell us this is the best we can hope for a mere decade after Iraq’s first election, as building accountable, transparent, and legitimate institutions is a monumental undertaking, full of uncertainty and ambiguity. Dealing with Iraq is a frustrating experience. But it nonetheless remains our best hope for the region, one of a very few islands of parliamentary democracy in a sea of abusive, medieval, and authoritarian states.'
- Douglas A. Ollivant,
Iraq after the Islamic State: Politics Rule, February 18, 2015</blockquote>
Context<blockquote>
'..persuade Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites to accept..'</blockquote>