No Go

Iraq Prime Minister Ayad Allawi came to America today to say that elections will be held in his country in January, right on schedule. He noted that about 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces are completely safe, which I guess is a good start.

Lots of President Bush's critics have argued, however, that in order to have a national election it has to actually be national -- as in, held all over the nation. The problem, as John Kerry explains it, is that "There are no-go zones in Iraq today. You can't hold an election in a no-go zone."

But not so fast. Donald Rumsfeld has figured out a way to go ahead with the election even if there's chaos in much of the country: just exclude the regions where the fighting is still going on.

Isn't this the kind of thing that starts civil wars?