Thinking Aloud

[obby]

Just thinking aloud.....

So, 60% of registered Iraqi's voted this weekend. All done under direct threat from the insurgents who threatened bombings and snipers (which they did, but were not successful in thwarting the voters desires). 60%? That's more than here in America and our lives are not threatened when we do have to vote. AMAZING!

Even CNN was praising the Iraqi election yesterday.

Last night, Chris Mathews went as far as to say "Bush is just like Donald Trump, HE JUST KEEPS WINNING!"

How must all the haters feel today? Kennedy, Kerry, Boxer, Biden, etc..etc...."The usual suspects"

All of these characters have been kicking & screaming from the beginning. Apparently, all have been wrong about what IS and IS NOT possible in Iraq. The haters never publicly displayed HOPE or OPTIMISM.

Again, blinded by hate. Will they ever learn?

I'm sure now the haters will have to move on to more negativism. I'll guess they'll try to spin yesterdays success by shifting focus from the victory of democracy to "WE NEED AN EXIT STRATEGY, 1400 American lives wasn't worth it, Where are the WMD's, Do we just invade every other dictatorship?,,etc,,etc,,etc,,etc,,,,,,PURE NEGATIVISM............

So, stupid ole' Bush who's been saying he wanted to see democracy in the middle east since 9/11. The haters have been claiming it was IMPOSSIBLE from day 1.

"WE JUST CAN'T WIN, They don't want democracy, They're not ready, We just wanna steal their oil",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Interesting,,,ain't it? Who's been on the wrong side of history? And you can't say nobody tried to encourage optimism and hope. It started from the top w/ Bush and his admin. They warned it would be tough, but at the end, it would be the best antidote to terrorism, DEMOCRACY!

Yesterday was definitely a good day. Especially for ALL the wounded and fallen soldiers. It was not all in vane and all those who thought otherwise should be ashamed of themselves!

AMEN!

[chris817]

I'm proud of the Iraqi people who stood up to the terriorists and voted.

[igloo]

I'm proud of the Iraqi people who stood up to the terriorists and voted.

Agreed....A historic moment...and even if you are anti-war, or anti-Bush, or one of those who simply root for doom and gloom and American/Bush failure, you had to have been moved at what took place.......

[jtk4]

I agree, good for them. I hope they realize the sacrifice of our people to help them become free.

Now gimme my oil bitches

[bigpoppanils]

I agree, good for them. I hope they realize the sacrifice of our people to help them become free.

agreed

[bigpoppanils]

Just thinking aloud.....

So, 60% of registered Iraqi's voted this weekend. All done under direct threat from the insurgents who threatened bombings and snipers (which they did, but were not successful in thwarting the voters desires). 60%? That's more than here in America and our lives are not threatened when we do have to vote. AMAZING!

the turnout in areas that actually experienced bombings was very low. especially in the Sunni areas.

even worse, thousands of Sunni's that turned up to vote could not.

Tens of Thousands of Iraqis May Have Missed Vote, Officials Say

By REUTERS

Published: February 1, 2005

AGHDAD, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Iraqis, notably in restive Sunni Arab areas, may have been denied their right to vote on Sunday because of insufficient ballots and polling centres, officials said.

Iraq began compiling election results from around the country on Tuesday after a barrage of election day attacks by Sunni militants failed to deter millions from voting.

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But officials said many Iraqis arrived late to find ballot sheets had run out, possibly skewing results for the already disgruntled minority.

Iraq's interim president Ghazi al-Yawar said extra ballots had to be supplied to Iraq's third city of Mosul, which is mainly Sunni Arab, after twice running out on election day.

"Also, tens of thousands were unable to cast their votes because of the lack of ballots in Basra, Baghdad, and Najaf," said Yawar, a Sunni Arab with a large tribal following.

Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission acknowledged that some Iraqis were unable to vote because pre-election intimidation in two Sunni Arab provinces hampered preparations.

"The elections took place under difficult conditions and this undoubtedly deprived a number of citizens in a number of areas from voting," said Hussein al-Hindawi, who heads the Commission that organised the poll.

"The security situation was difficult in these areas and there may have been a shortage of materials in this area or that... Some centres were opened quickly, at the last moment."

Hindawi said the Commission was setting up an external committee comprising of three Iraqi lawyers to investigate all complaints. Each case would be explained in a detailed report.

BALLOTS OUT

Although Iraqis braved insurgent threats and streamed to the polls in many places, particularly the Shi'ite south and Kurdish north, turnout was low in the central Sunni heartland where the guerrillas are strongest -- highlighting the dangerous sectarian divisions facing the new government.

Mishaan Jibouri, a candidate and national assembly member, accused the Commission of deliberately supplying insufficient materials in some Sunni areas, believing few would vote.

Arab voters who initially intended to boycott the polls in the ethnically-mixed city of Kirkuk had apparently changed their minds after realising they would lose to Kurds. But by the time they arrived to vote, ballot sheets were gone, he said.

"I think the decision came from Baghdad. They were concerned with keeping Sunnis out of the game," he said.

Jibouri said ballot sheets were 36,000-40,000 short in Hawija, a largely Sunni Arab area southwest of oil-rich Kirkuk, where Kurds say they were targeted by a campaign of killings.

He estimated a shortfall of 28,000 ballot papers in Baiji, a northern Sunni city, and 6,000 in nearby Shirqat.

"I had a large number of voters in these areas. I am sure we will be in parliament, but if these people had been able to vote we would have won more seats," he said.

Of 5,244 polling centres planned, 28 had not opened, many in western Baghdad, due to poor security, the Commission said.

While there were 63,000 polling booths across Iraq, there were just 33,763 independent local monitors and 622 international monitors, it said.

Hussein al-Mousawi, an official of the Shi'ite Political Council running on the main Shi'ite ticket that is expected to have won most votes, said the longer results took the more he suspected foul play to curtail his list's predicted dominance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/01/international/middleeast/01cnd-vote.html?hp&ex=1107320400&en=bb4bb22d97890a98&ei=5094&partner=homepage