WELL... So far, So good

[12B4S]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050130/D87U7A280.html

[Gypsy]

Looks like voter turnout is higher than expected, some areas reporting upwards of 90% turnout and an average (as of this morning) of 72%. Drones caught people walking upwards of 13 miles to their polling places to vote. Thirteen miles.

Congrats to the Iraqi people on their historic moment.

[QRQ 30]

I guess I'm somewhat of an pessimist . It seems the vote is the easy part. Those elected being allowed to take office may be the real challenge.

[Gypsy]

Very good point. I'm anxious to see who they elected as well. It is but a first step....yet definitely history in the making.

[jatx]

I hope the naysayers choke on this. God bless the Iraqi people.


January 30, 2005
Amid Attacks, a Party Atmosphere on Baghdad's Closed Streets
By DEXTER FILKINS

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 30 - After a slow start, voters turned out in very large numbers in Baghdad today, packing polling places and creating a party atmosphere in the streets as Iraqis here and nationwide turned out to cast ballots in the country's first free elections in 50 years.

American officials were showing confidence that today was going to be a big success, despite attacks in Baghdad and other parts of the country that took at least two dozen lives. Agence-France Pressereported that the Interior Ministry said 36 people had been killed in attacks.

Preliminary estimates of a 72 percent turnout by a member of the Independent Electorial Commission, Adel Lami, were later revised at a news conference to "about 60 percent" by another commission official. The initial estimate excluded the mainly Sunni Muslim provinces of Anbar and Nineveh. Polling stations closed at 5 p.m. Iraqi time, or 9 a.m Eastern time.

In Washington, Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice said the elections are "going better than expected." She added in an interview on ABC TV's "This Week" that "What we are seeing here is the voice of freedom."

A sobering note came later in the day. A British C-130 Hercules military transport plane crashed near Balad, 35 miles northwest of Baghdad, , a Ministry of Defense spokesman in London said. The spokesman said the plane crashed at 5:25 p.m. Iraqi time.

Balad is the site of the largest American airfield in Iraq and is the main military logistical center. Helicopters were hovering over the site of the crash as darkness fell, looking for survivors.

The London spokesman said he had no further details on the crash, but some reports said the wreckage was spread over a wide area, suggesting it may have been shot down. Hercules transport planes can carry up to 42,000 pounds of cargo, or up to 92 people.

The voting in Baghdad streets of Baghdad were closed to traffic, but full of children playing soccer, and men and women walking, some carrying babies. Everyone, it seemed, was going to vote. They dropped their ballots into boxes even as continuous mortar shells started exploding at about noon.

Thirty civilians and six police officers died in mortar attacks and suicide bombings around the country, the Interior Minister reported, according to A.F.P. Twenty-two of the deaths occurred in Baghdad, Reuters reported, where mortar attacks took three lives and 19 people were killed by suicide bombers. At least 29 were wounded in the attacks in the capital, Reuters said.

But if the insurgents wanted to stop people in Baghdad from voting, they failed. If they wanted to cause chaos, they failed. The voters were completely defiant, and there was a feeling that the people of Baghdad, showing a new, positive attitude, had turned a corner.

No one was claiming that the insurgency was over or that the deadly attacks would end. But the atmosphere in this usually grim capital, a city at war and an ethnic microcosm of the country, had changed, with people dressed in their finest clothes to go to the polls in what was generally a convivial mood.

"You can feel the enthusiasm," Col. Mike Murray of the First Cavalry Regiment, said outside a polling station in Karada, who added that the scene in Karada was essentially true for the whole area.

In Khadamiya, a mixed area in northwest Baghdad, the turnout was also large, with some representatives of political parties saying the turnout could approach 80 percent.

Even in the so-called Sunni Triangle, a hotbed of resistance to the American occupation, people voted, too. In Baquba, 60 miles north of Baghdad, all the polling stations that reported indicated a huge turnout.

In Mosul, the restive city to the north, large turnouts were reported, even in the Sunni Muslim areas. But even before 8:30 a.m., election officials were already getting reports filtering in about roadside bomb attacks, mortars and small arms fire.

"They didn't hit," Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, the American commander in Mosul, said after he arrived at the election coordination center. "But that is what we think they were trying to do."

By late afternoon, Maj. Anthony Cruz, the American liaison officer with the electoral commission in Mosul, said that there were thousands of voters appearing at each polling center "across the board."

There was some discontent among Kurds, however, because of a failure to deliver election boxes. They asked for a 24-hour extension of the election, but officials said that was not possible.

There were no reports of violence in Najaf, the holiest city to Shiites, where turnout appeared to be good and there was a festive air. The city is home to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and posters of the Ayatollah beseeching people to vote could be seen all over the city.

One voter, Musel Aziz, 36, said: "I and my people have taken part in this election. We want to lead a normal life, just like people in neighboring countries."

In Ramadi, only six people had voted after seven hours at a polling station on the south side of the Euphrates River across from the town. Many people were apparently intimidated at crossing the bridge over the river, because potential voters would make themselves highly visible.

Lieut. Col. Joseph Southcott, of the 1/9 Battalion of the Second Infantry Division, which has been brought in from South Korea, said he and his men would judge their success not by the turnount, which appeared to be less than 1 percent, but whether they had created safe conditions to vote.

Units of the division, which crossed the bridge into the city, found men and boys on street corners, who shouted "Inshallah!," but showed no signs of hostility.

Several explosions broke out across Baghdad this morning, especially in the southwestern section of the city. American attack helicopters circled over the city center, and the roar of fighter jets could be heard from high above.

Qasim Muhammad Saleh, 45, walking with his two sons, Sajad, 5, and Jowid, 12, had just come from voting at Lebanon High School in Karada. The boys were carrying Iraqi flags, and Mr. Saleh's right index finger carried the ink marks showing he had cast his ballot.

"We now have our freedom," he said. "After 35 years, we finally got rid of Saddam and now we can vote for whoever we want.

"After casting my ballots, I'm hoping that the situation will improve."

Nearby, at the Nawfal primary school in Karada, there was a steady stream of people lining up to go through the barbed wire checkpoint in order to vote. Inside, people were shrugging off the sounds of explosions, and the mood was upbeat, even enthusiastic, as they went through the voting process.

Voters appeared to be turning out in large numbers in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq, especially in Sulaimaniya, where attacks have been muted, news agencies reported.

General Ham said that about an hour and a half after the polls opened that there were reports of mortar attacks and small arms fire around the city. The general also said there appeared to be a good turnout in the northwest section of the city, surprising because it is a mostly Sunni area.

The election will create the basis here for the rise to power of a Shiite-dominated government for the first time in the country's 85-year history. But the chaotic situation on the ground seemed to render most predictions about the future composition of the government tenuous at best.

The turnout, and the ease with which the election is carried off, are regarded as major tests of the Bush administration's goal of planting a democratic government in the heart of the Middle East, and for its hopes to stabilize this country and eventually bring 155,000 American troops home. Mr. Bush, in his weekly radio address on Saturday, said he expected the insurgents to do everything possible to thwart the voting because free elections would "expose the emptiness of their vision for Iraq."

The election is one of a number of landmarks intended by Iraqi leaders and American officials to set up a democratic state here, following the destruction of Saddam Hussein's government in the spring of 2003. Iraqi voters will elect a 275-member national assembly, which will be empowered to write the country's permanent constitution. After that task, to be completed in the autumn, voters will choose a full-term national assembly in December.

Iraqi voters will also be selecting provincial parliaments, and the Kurds in the north will be voting for candidates to the regional government there that was set up after the Persian Gulf war in 1991.


John F. Burns and Iraqi employees of The New York Times contributed reporting from Baghdad for this article,Christine Hauser contributed from Mosul and Edward Wong from Najaf.

[QRQ 30]

I hope the naysayers choke on this. God bless the Iraqi people.

I am truly happy for the Iraqi people but theelection isn't successful until an effective self governing government is in place and functioning.

Some have been quick to gloat only to have to wipe egg off of their faces:

The run to Baghdad;
The toppling of Sadam's statue;
The capture of Sadahm;
the "Mission Accomplished" celebration on the carrier,
etc. etc.

As Yogi would say: "It ain't over until it's over!".

[jatx]

No doubt the Iraqi people still have a long road ahead and the final outcome is not preordained. However, as the article above states, victory is won "one inch at a time." So today I celebrate the guts and resilience of American soldiers and Iraqi voters. Tomorrow I will go back to worrying.

By the way, I wonder what voter turnout would be like in the US if mortar rounds began dropping near polling places? Or if county party officials and volunteers were being targeted for execution?

Results such as today's, as well as the recent triumph in Ukraine, warm my heart. It's exhilirating to see when people begin to take their own freedom seriously. The Iraqi people have stood up and said "we the people" in a way rarely seen in the Middle East. Now they just need to begin saying it more often and more insistently. The next big test, in my mind, is for some of today's voters to take the plunge and place themselves on the ballot for local and national office in a year - demonstrating active committment to participatory government. It's one thing to order from a menu, quite another to step into the kitchen and cook.

Finally, I wonder how all this is playing in Iran? Anyone know of any English-language news websites frequented by Iranians?

[QRQ 30]

jatx being a "freedom lovingsouthern boy" I am surprised he would ask:

By the way, I wonder what voter turnout would be like in the US if mortar rounds began dropping near polling places? Or if county party officials and volunteers were being targeted for execution?

Americans have never failed to react to internal and homeland attacks. The problem has sometimes been recognizing the signifacance of occurances far from home. Under like circumstances I would guess the elections may be delayed while the american people roamed the streets and country side rounding up the insurgents. The danger wouldn't be passive but more than likely vigilanteeism

I repeat myself: "There have been too many victory parties in this operation." Let's get the job done and then let the ticker tape fall in the streets of NYC!!

This reminds me of the football player who does a "victory flip" and then loses the vall on the one inch line.

[jatx]

QRQ,

I absolutely agree that we've celebrated some false victories since the start of this fight, but we should not let that jade us to really significant moments like today's.

And you're right, I am a "freedom loving Southern boy", and I've put my money where my mouth is. I've worked on or managed political campaigns in over 25 states - local, state, federal, you name it - and all for conservative Republican candidates. (I assure you that this is not a glamorous way to make a living - kind of like being a roady for a really bad rock band).

In each instance, all the money spent was to overcome the pitiful malaise of the average American voter. We may wish it wasn't so, but that is the "ground truth." More than a few Americans could learn something from today's Iraqi voters, present company excluded.

[Roguish Lawyer]

I think this is huge. The turnout numbers make it very difficult for anyone to question the legitimacy of the new government with a straight face. One would think that we will see more countries helping now, although who knows . . .

[QRQ 30]

Alright RL. Who's the dude with the rosy glasses.?

Y'all don't get me wrong. I am just saying that perhaps the most difficult phase is yet to come.

BTW: RL is quite right. We now have something to point to as "the will of the Iraqi people". This will help still the cries that we are forcing our way of life upon them.

Americans may have a lazy sleepy malaise, and appear like a napping tiger. But see what happens when you pull the pussy's tail.

[Roguish Lawyer]

Originally Posted by QRQ 30

Alright RL. Who's the dude with the rosy glasses.?

The Consigliere of the Corleone family, Tom Hagen. Glasses by Kyobanim.

[lrd]

Iraqi policeman gives his life to protect young democracy
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
Posted 2/1/2005 10:14 PM Updated 2/2/2005 11:02 AM

BAGHDAD — Policemen guarding a polling station in Baghdad's Mansour neighborhood Sunday recognized the suicide bomber immediately. The young man was wearing Chinese-made high-top tennis shoes, a leather jacket and a red head scarf — the same kind of clothes as worn by an attacker at another site that same day.

Fourteen-year police veteran Abdul Amir al-Shuwayli, 29, acted without hesitation.

The bomber was steps away from a line of voters heading into Al-Zahour Primary School when Shuwayli moved toward him, police Capt. Firaz Mohammed Ali said. According to Ali, Shuwayli yelled, "Let me save the people. Let me save my friends."

Shuwayli threw his arms around the bomber and drove him backward about 50 feet into an intersection. The rush seemed to catch the suicide attacker by surprise. The bomber had a hand grenade but failed to throw it. A second or two passed before he detonated an explosive belt, police Lt. Col. Kadham Abbas said.

The blast shredded Shuwayli, whose body took the brunt of the explosion. It also tore the bomber apart, leaving only his face intact. Shrapnel injured three other officers and perforated walls around the intersection. Windows in nearby homes shattered.

Voters continued to line up.

"Suicide bombers are not the only ones willing to give up their lives," said Ali, one of Shuwayli's commanders. "We have some people who are ready to die as well."

On Monday, interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi eulogized Shuwayli in televised remarks and declared him a young democracy's first champion. "The martyr gave his life for his country," Allawi said. "Abdul Amir is a real hero of our nation."

At the policeman's funeral Tuesday, held under a bright red tent on a street outside the home he shared with his four brothers and three sisters in southern Baghdad, family members said it was the kind of sacrifice they had long dreaded.

"We were expecting him to be killed," Shuwayli's younger sister, Amir, said softly. She wore a black head scarf and dress, her face a mask of sorrow.

She said her brother was a news junkie who followed every detail of Iraq's struggle against the militants who have killed so many civilians and police. He hated the insurgency, she said.

"He was ready to give of himself to others," Amir said as she sat in her brother's bedroom. "We knew that about him."

The family has left the room as he kept it. Abdul Amir's jacket and shirt hang neatly from a peg on his bureau. His favorite incense burns, and his water pipe sits at the foot of his bed.

Shuwayli, a Shiite Arab, had decorated the walls with religious imagery and a family tree for the prophet Mohammed.

The third of eight adult children, Abdul Amir was a single man, following an Iraqi tradition of waiting for his sisters to marry before choosing a wife. As a police officer, he earned $235 a month.

As roast lamb and rice were served under the funeral tent, and family and tribal members gathered to mourn, Iraqi police convoys kept driving up to the house so fellow officers could pay their respects.

The family's neighborhood is rife with insurgents, and the convoys would not linger. Officers fired rifles into the air to disperse traffic so the police vehicles could leave quickly before becoming targets.

"He hated the insurgents," Amir said of her brother as the truckloads of police wheeled into the neighborhood. "His main interest was in fighting them."

Police Capt. Ali, interviewed at the Mansour police headquarters where Shuwayli was stationed, said he visited the blast site minutes after the explosion Sunday. He was surveying the scene of carnage when he saw something he found remarkable.

Residents began coming out of their homes and lining up in even greater numbers after the explosion.

"They were stepping on the bits and pieces of the insurgent with their feet as they walked in to vote," Ali said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/i...oliceman_x.htm

[QRQ 30]

Residents began coming out of their homes and lining up in even greater numbers after the explosion.

"They were stepping on the bits and pieces of the insurgent with their feet as they walked in to vote," Ali said.

This is one of the surest signs I have seen yet that the insurgents are losing! To paraphrase Mao: "The insurgents are as fish and the people are the sea. Dry up the sea and the fish die."

Editorial from the Times on the SOTU address and Iraq elections. Thought it
was worth posting.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...469625,00.html