Iraq election a success, Congrats to Bush Admin.

The Iraq election was a success and the country is a democracy. I had my doubts about this war but now that it did indeed succeed I have no more negative opinions on it. Bush's leadership had freed a nation and made the world a better place.

Congradulations to the Bush Administration and the American Military and it's Allied Forces.

[edit on 1-2-2005 by ProphetOfYahweh]

??????

OK.

You have seen a lot of coverage talking about high turnout (keep watching that discussion). You know that a major proportion of the population of Iraq systematically boycotted the election. You know that nearly 50 people were killed near polling stations. You cannot name the leaders or the new parliamentarians because the election is not over. Do you expect there to be no controversy in vote counting? What's up with that? You have world leaders and former world leaders calling the Iraq election "fake". Why?

Yet you congratulate a corrupt administration on implementing a "success" and "democracy".

Let us hope that you are right even to a small extent on the latter, and that there is some stability in the newly forming political process in Iraq for more than a few weeks.

But your "congratulations" are premature and ill-founded.

The overwhelming response to the Iraqi elections has been positive, including some of Bush's harshest critics. Gorbachev has been quoted as saying that the elections are a fake, but his voice is in the very small minority. Everyone agrees that it would be in the new Iraqi's government to include the Sunnis, despite the limited boycott by some of their members. Even Allawi has promised a government of inclusion for all Iraqis. Support from the EU and NATO has also been voiced:

In Brussels, Belgium, the European Union's foreign policy chief said Iraq's move toward democracy would pay off in the provision of more aid.

"They are going to find the support of the European Union, no doubt about that, in order to see this process move on in the right direction," Javier Solana told The Associated Press.

Areas where the EU was looking to help include drafting a new constitution and training the judiciary and security forces, he said.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the election could lead to the alliance stepping up training efforts for the Iraqi military.

sfgate.com.../news/a/2005/01/31/international1254EST0619.DTL

This is only the first step in a long process. But Bush (and Blair and Howard too ) deserve credit for helping to bring this day to fruition. With the sentiment high and support from the world, the Iraqis will succeed.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I wish Iraqis well. According to this ^ article, there's no cause to celebrate yet.

Mod Edit: to repair link only.

[edit on 2-2-2005 by UM_Gazz]

Iraq elections: Success or worst case scenario?

Optimism in western sources hides the bare truth

Western news sources are full of euphoria stories quoting the words "high turnout" and quotes from President Bush, as if his words ever provided a realistic and valid source of information: his regime lies through its teeth and just a few years ago he probably did not even know where Iraq was on the map.

If this election is for the President of the United States a "great and historical achievement", it says little for his powers of judgment. In fact, this election confirms the worst-case scenario, a partition of Iraq, formerly held together by the Ba'ath government and now deeply cleft in three separate sections.

Today's election may have had a high turnout in some areas but this is precisely the question. As feared, the Sunni did not turn out in large numbers, whether through "fear" or simply because they did not want to support a government which is after all a puppet of the USA, the country which illegally invaded Iraq and slaughtered tens of thousands of innocent people. This election is forged upon an act of butchery. Furthermore, many of the candidates were anonymous for fear of reprisals, hence the question "Who are we voting for?" This election is a sham.

The Shiite and Kurdish voters will feel that they have elected their representatives - the Sunni population will not feel represented and so the stage is set for more unrest, more violence, more killings in the foreseeable future, as those who thrive on civil strife make the most of the situation, sowing chaos and havoc and reaping the benefits, to the detriment of the Iraqi people as a whole.

The fact that Iraq is a hotbed for Islamist fanatics these days is the telling legacy of George Bush's foreign policy, fuelled by a cowboy-style, gung-ho attitude belonging to Hollywood B movies of the worst class, taming the wilderness with the Bible and the bullet.

It might have worked in the USA as the Indians were slaughtered in their thousands and as ethnic cleansing was carried out on the cruelest of scales but it does not work anywhere else and it certainly hasn't worked in Iraq. True, two thirds of Iraq's people will be represented. The problem is with the other third.

The Bush regime should not be congratulating itself at the election results, it should hang its head in shame that it has managed to divide a country which was formerly united in the only way possible. True, Saddam Hussein was brutal.

But if your neighbor beats his wife, is it right to set fire to his house and kill his children?

source: english.pravda.ru



Iraq officials admit irregularities in poll

Tens of thousands of Iraqis - mainly Sunni Arabs - may have been denied their right to vote on Sunday because of insufficient ballots and polling centres, Iraqi officials have said.

Iraq's interim President Ghazi al-Yawir 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 al-Yawir.

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

"We must all become involved in a dialogue and reconciliation ... with everyone. All those who were not involved in violence must be part of the political process," he said.

"There were no winners or losers" in the election he added, calling it "a victory for Iraq".

The election is likely to see Shia groups take power in Iraq

source: english.aljazeera


ok,
the elections are over,
the winner is "known",
and the future of iraqi people is "bright"!
but then again...
...the real question is, if this "democracy" will work.
this is a real experiment if you ask me,
and nobody really knows how it is going to "react",
in this kindof "explosive" area....

[edit on 2-2-2005 by Souljah]

I just really don't understand how an election can be legitimized when held under the auspices and athority of an occupying foriegn entity, isn't that kind of illegal under international laws? Don't get me wrong, the elections were probably a great boost to the morale of the Iraqi populace, but I can see some serious problems arising from foriegn and domestic challenges to it's legitimacy, especially in light of recent reports of coercion and bribery surfacing. How can you have a legitimate election accepted by the masses under the occupation of a hostile invasion force? Honestly guys, I wouldn't get too excited about it, lest we forget it was their government to begin with, and this notion of installing 'democracy' is a little pricey, over 1400 american soldiers killed, some ten thousand wounded, and over a hundred thousand dead Iraqis. Snipers positioned at polling areas amidst piles of smoking rubble and small arms fire is not the giant leap towards idealism that our media is making out to be. Bomb them into a bright new future of foriegn debt and capitalism, hey that's a realy noble concept. How many more countries are going to be so 'persuaded'?

Souljah - great job,Really It's hard to completly contradict yourself ina single post but you made it look easy.
First you post an article talking about the so-called sunni boycott, and then right below you post an article talking about how turnout in Mosul was so high they ran out of ballots not once but twice!
Yeah they must have been boycotting really hard to need that many ballots.

Originally posted by mwm1331
Souljah - great job,Really It's hard to completly contradict yourself ina single post but you made it look easy.
First you post an article talking about the so-called sunni boycott, and then right below you post an article talking about how turnout in Mosul was so high they ran out of ballots not once but twice!

Yeah they must have been boycotting really hard to need that many ballots.

EXACTLY!
that is the "democracy" that the u.s. has give to the iraqi people.
a real contradiction.
not at all equal and democratic.

makes you think....

Souljah I dont think you get it.
They ran out of ballots because turnout was so much higher than anticipated.
Not because they didn't want Mosulians to vote.
If that was the case they wouldn't have gotten more ballots.
But then gain I wouldn't expect you to have the abillity to think logically,if you could you would realise that your support of the terrorists in Iraq is support of evil.

congrats to the majority of the iraqi people for denouncing terrorism and hope the sji'ite parties have the responsibillity to govern all different ethnic groups in a fair way.

Oh, and unwillingly I must give some credits to the Bush administration as well

Souljah, no point in trying to argue with right wing nut jobs, look at the signature they tote around...
"Americans are Gods chosen people"
Jesus, so I guess the other 6 Billion are just terrorists and heretics.
no wmw, the real evil is going over there and implanting a madman dictator, selling him and his enemies chemical and other WMD's for years, then comming back after a couple decades and bombing them into the stone age to reinstall a government that is more compliant to your interests. Real evil is CIA agents meeting with Bin Laden weeks before the 9-11 attacks in an american hospital in Dubai, and so on and so forth. Support of the terrorists, or supression of the resistance, it just depends which side of the guns and tv's you're on.

Souljah, your post is completely illogical and self-contradictory. These elections were a great success by any measure and the most free fair elections that any Arab country has seen.

mwm1331, thanks for pointing this out:

You have voted mwm1331 for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have two more votes this month.

Originally posted by mwm1331
But then gain I wouldn't expect you to have the abillity to think logically,if you could you would realise that your support of the terrorists in Iraq is support of evil.

i belie that the real evil in the world today,
is represented by a single man,
sitting in your white house right now.
no "terrorists" are in the same league as he is!

and
judging by your signature,
it is clear to me, what kind of "american" you are.
very tolerant indeed!

Americans are Gods chosen people

Islam is the tool of the devil, and muhhamed is a false prophet

very equal, ey?
i would say that is a very rasist point of view,
dont you think?

[edit on 2-2-2005 by Souljah]

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Souljah, your post is completely illogical and self-contradictory. These elections were a great success by any measure and the most free fair elections that any Arab country has seen.

IF the elections really WERE a great SUCCESS,
as you claim,
we shall see in the future.

we dont even know the results!
and you say, the elections are complete success.

how do you know that?
can you "see the future"?
the elections is just "a turning point",
what will happen now:
peace
or more wars,
we shall see....

by souljah very equal, ey?
i would say that is a very rasist point of view,
dont you think?

Souljah do you even know what racist means?
Heres a hint it has to do with race not religon.

Just so you know I am very tolerant, I am also a christian however and as such I believe all religons other than christianity are false religons created by the devil to lure the children of God away from his teachings. But then again so do all monotheistic religons.
However unlike your heroes who want to kill me and my family because am christian as opposed to Whabbi Muslim, I pray nightly for the followers of islam to embrace the one true god.

Rare albino kangaroo gives birth in Austria
Kimberley the kangaroo has become the first albino Bennett's tree kangaroo to give birth in a European zoo.
Kimberley's albino joey Cooky, named after Captain Cook, began poking his head out of his mother's pouch this week at Kernhof Zoo in Lower Austria in front of scores of local TV stations and newspapers. "Albino kangaroos are extremely rare.
www.smh.com.au...
> jetzt ist schon ein Baumkänguruh daraus geworden! Nachvollziehbarer Übersetzungsfehler, da das Tier im Englischen weder „Bennett“ noch „Kangaroo“, sondern Rednecked Wallaby heißt.

Originally posted by mwm1331
Souljah do you even know what racist means?

Heres a hint it has to do with race not religon.

so you are saying that race has nothing to do with religion?
you are one funny guy!
ok, i am not going to argue with you anymore,
live in that "perfect christian world of yours",
and ignore any outside information.
praise your only god,
and deny all other religions,
or races.

Racism and religion

Whilst the subject of religion is not amongst the key themes on the agenda at the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, the role that religion plays in racial discrimination has dominated talks.

Topics of discussion have included how faith communities are hoping to combat racial prejudice, and also how religion can make existing racial and ethnic divisions worse.


source:
bbc.co.uk

Originally posted by Souljah

so you are saying that race has nothing to do with religion?
you are one funny guy!

Yes that exactly what I am saying.
Race has no bearing on religon.
There are arabs (a "racial" identfier) who are muslim, christian, Jewish, Buddhist, etc (all of which are religous identifiers).
There are white muslims black muslims arab muslims just as there are white christians black chrstians arab chrstans.

Race and religon are two seperate things.
Just as nationailty and politics are two seperate things.
Just as race and politics are two seperate things.

The fact that such a simple concept is beyond your ken says much about your intelligence or lack thereof.

I am going to assume the vote was rigged by the counters, bribed by US friendly contractor teams and baathist political insiders under the auspice or returning control to the Iraqis. The truth is probably no election in Iraq will be valid until the Iraqi people control every aspect of it, without influence and coercion.

Assuming the election was not rigged:
A free and open election where minority candidates flourish due to voter enthusiasm for change amidst blossoming national idealism...

I remember reading about America when it was like that back in the 70's. I was born in '80. Everything's been downhill since my birthday. Transparent government, more like vaccuous.

"Free" Iraqis Still Waiting for the Wind of Change

"The only decent food we get nowadays is at funerals."

02/01/05 "The Independent" -- Baghdad. The gale tore into Baghdad yesterday, stripping the walls of election posters, sending miniature whirlwinds between the shuttered shops of Rashid Street, giving new meaning to the black hoods and masks worn by the policemen at Tahrir Square.

Tahrir--"independence"--is a word which a lot of people voted for on Sunday; not for "democracy" as the Western media would have it, but for freedom; freedom to speak, freedom to vote, freedom from the Americans.

They were in Baghdad, too, yesterday, driving their Humvees through Karada, circling the city in their Apaches and their little bee-like Sioux spotter helicopters.

For days we will have to wait for the election results. A spokesman for the Shia Muslim Iraqi National Alliance is quoted in The New York Times as saying that the Americans and British say his party might have won more than 50 per cent of the vote--the Shia Republic has come of age!--and it's all the talk of Baghdad when the people hear it in Arabic on their own networks from the Gulf. But how could the Americans know now that the INA has won more than half the votes?

At the end of Jumhuriya Street, a squad of cops in plain clothes stands on a pick-up truck, rifles pointing at us, some of them hooded. At midday, it's still supposed to be the curfew.

The houses are boarded up, the shops closed. It's as if, after voting, the Shias are waiting for the political equivalent of a tsunami punishment, the Sunnis merely biding their time.

The shish kebab in my least-favourite Baghdad restaurant tastes like cardboard. No wonder my friend Haidar says that the only decent food we get nowadays is at funerals.

In Nidhal Street, I find a "haj" [pilgrimage] bus trailing our car. It has an Iraqi flag on the front and its destination, Mecca, written in bold black paint across a banner on the front. Held up by the election curfews, the pilgrims were off on their long drive south.

Against this insurgency, this election, the eternal, hopeless optimism of Messrs Bush and Blair, the much more eternal ritual of Muslim faith and prayer goes on.

My Lebanese travel agent was on the haj and I called him from Baghdad to ensure he was safely home--pilgrims have a disturbing habit of being crushed to death--and I realised at once what it must be like for Iraqis, trapped in their country, to make a call abroad.

Only a few days in the claustrophobia of Baghdad and an international call is like an oxygen bottle. Yes, says Ahmed, the weather in Beirut is cold, there is snow on the mountains, my cleaning lady has closed the shutters and he's safe back from the haj.

The television flickers in my room. The ex-CIA man and "interim" Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi,--possibly the next "interim" Prime Minister as well--is telling Iraqis that their vote on Sunday means that "the terrorists have been defeated".

Flak jackets on, I say to myself. Why do these people--the British were the same in Northern Ireland--invite further attack? This is the same Allawi who, from his bunker in the "Green Zone", instructed his vulnerable people to vote two days ago.

More and more, we feel this vast, cosmic distance between real Iraq and the fantasy Iraq of Washington and London. I watch Blair talking nervously, his body language defensive, his eyes spiritual, telling us what a stupendous success the election has been. But he chose to keep the extent of the extent of the RAF Hercules tragedy secret from his people when he spoke on Sunday night. So why the surprise when the Americans and British still keep secret the number of Iraqis who are killed here every day?

Twice in the morning, there are huge explosions which roar over Baghdad. I hear a gun battle near Sadr City. But the local Iraqi radio carries no explanation of this.

At mid-morning, two police cars overtake me, sirens squealing, Kalashnikovs waving out the windows at motorists, the cops mouthing oaths at anyone who blocks their way. No reason again. They are the real world, hooded and unidentifiable. Fast and stirring dust.

Like the wind.

by Robert Fisk

source: information clearing house

iraqi people dont want democracy.
they want FREEDOM.
they want schools for their chidlrem.
they want medical care.
they want food.
they want electrical supply.
they want security.
they want to rebuild what has been destroyed.
they want CHANGE!