We have helped the Iraqi people get rid of Saddam Hussein's brutal regime. We have assisted them in holding their first free democratic election in 50 years. Early results indicated that interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi - our puppet - and his coalition will not finish first. Isn't this a democracy in action? No one can legitimately claim that we fixed the election result. Finally the voice of the Iraqi people has been heard!

But wait a second, who are they voting in? Initial election results suggest that the Iraqi people chose the list of the United Iraqi Alliance, supported by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's highest Shia cleric. His ticket is headed by Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who leads a group called the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Furthermore, Hakim lived in Iran and is influenced by the Iranian clerical regime.

If this proves the final result, it does not look favorabe to America's long-term interests. We are then left with two choices.

The first is to manipulate the election's result and make it look as if Allawi's coalition won. This approach will defeat the whole purpose of freeing Iraq and restoring democracy. The second choice is to abide by the will of the Iraqi people who voted. If this be the case, the Iranian government should officially thank us for our sacrifices: We will have helped establish an Iranian-influenced regime in what used to be a secular republic in Iraq.

Hesham Mahmoud

Rutherford, Feb. 7