"TIKRIT, Iraq -- Ali Ghaleb, a lawyer from Saddam Hussein's hometown of
Tikrit, did everything he could to persuade fellow Sunni Arabs to boycott
Iraqi elections in January.
"So he sounds a bit sheepish when he explains his new job in Tikrit: elected
representative. 'Maybe the boycott was a mistake,' he says.
"Mr. Ghaleb put himself up for election last year. Then he joined the
opposition to the elections and resolved to withdraw, but got kidnapped and
missed the deadline to remove his name from the ballot. On election day, he
found himself a reluctant winner.
"Now, detecting changing winds in the Sunni Arab community, he has decided
that active participation in the political process is the right thing to do
after all."
