The Iraqi Vote

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First the security was tight and well organized:

Many Iraqis began lining up at polling stations to vote well before the 7 a.m. opening of the Dec. 15 national elections. Election turnout throughout Iraq is expected to be high as voting continues throughout the day.

Iraqi security forces have taken the lead in providing election security, with 225,000 troops on duty — 85,000 more than there were for the constitutional referendum voting Oct. 15.

The tight security involves a three-stage inspection process before voters get to the polling sites. No one with bags, cell phones or packages is allowed to enter. Coalition forces are supporting the Iraqis with perimeter checkpoints well away from voting sites.

With such good security even Iraqi’s in the most dangerous area’s of Iraq came out and voted:

BARWANA, IRAQ: The polls have been open for six hours in the town of Barwana, one of the three Triad cities which include Haqlaniyah and Haditha. The poll site sits right beneath the now-destroyed Barwana bridge, where Zarqawi terrorists routinely executed residents for not conforming to their perverse interpretation of Islam.

It is estimated Barwana has upward of 40,000 residents. Turnout has been heavy; over 2,000 Iraqis have entered the polls by noon Iraqi time. During the referendum on the Constitution in October, about 2,300 total votes were cast in the city.

All in all it went so well and had such a high turnout that they extended the end to voting by one hour:

The polls stayed open one hour later, until 6 p.m. local time (10 a.m. EST), because of such high turnout. Long lines were reported in some precincts, said commission official Munthur Abdelamir, some of which wrapped around neighborhood blocks. The commission said results will be announced within two weeks.

Policemen guarding a polling place in eastern Baghdad’s Zayouna neighborhood fired shots in the air to celebrate the end of voting there.

Even the Sunni’s, who boycotted the last general election, came out in droves:

Sunni voter turnout in today’s Iraqi election appeared much greater than it was during the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, the top U.S. military officer in Iraq said today.

News coverage of long lines of Iraqis waiting to cast their ballots across Iraq today already indicated a higher overall turnout than during the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multinational Force Iraq, said during a live satellite broadcast appearance during today’s Pentagon “town hall” meeting.

“The Iraqi people have had a great day today,” Casey said, noting that the level of terrorist-conducted violence during the election seemed to be at or below that experienced during Oct. 15.

Casey pointed out that Sunni participation in today’s election seems much higher than in the previous voting. The Sunnis, many of whom live in Anbar province, had largely boycotted the Jan. 30 and Oct. 15 elections.

A great day for Democracy and for Iraq:

Today is “a new day for Iraq,” regardless of who wins in the country’s parliamentary elections, an Iraqi-American who emigrated here 12 years ago and became a U.S. citizen in 1995 said here today.

Ali Sadoon al-Timimi, a Shiite Muslim from Basra, proudly held up his ink-stained finger to show he’d been to the East Coast polling station in nearby McLean, Va., set up where Iraqi expatriates could vote.

After three and a half decades under Saddam Hussein’s bloody dictatorship, Timimi acknowledges he and many of his countrymen never dreamed they’d live to see the day when they would choose a new, democratically elected government.

“We’re really, really excited,” he said. “We as Iraqis believe in democracy, and the people are so happy to see this day.”

Timimi remembers all too well the brutality and repression of the Saddam Hussein regime. He said two of his brothers were murdered under Saddam’s order, one during the 1991 uprising against him.

Regardless of who wins at the polls today and what sect they represent, Timimi said, all Iraqis will be winners if their legislators keep the interests of the country at heart.

“Whoever wins, it doesn’t matter, as long as they are for the people,” he said. “Who’s good is good and who’s bad is bad. It doesn’t matter what group they come from.”

Timimi said he’s encouraged to see Sunnis taking an active part in the elections after boycotting the January elections. “The Sunnis have come to see that this is the new reality and that things have to change,” he said. “It’s good is that they are now a part of that.”

But what do the dummies on the left think of freedom spreading across Iraq?

Or how about this one, a little praise but he can’t help himself. You know the left, the glass is always half empty:

After watching the networks report the Iraq vote today…

… I want to say this to Bushco and the Neocons:

OK, I’ll give you guys this one. It was an exciting day for Iraq. It didn’t seem like the networks needed to spin this one too much. A good turnout, little violence, all sides participating.

If your grandchildren sing songs about you, it will be for the events of today. It starts now. Don’t fuck it up!

Of course, the networks followed that story with the McCain/torture story and the levees in NOLA. This serves to remind us that you are still total scumbags. But finally there’s one day where I’m willing to say that maybe, in Iraq at least, it may have been worth some of the cost.

You’ll fuck it up though. You’ll probably get caught stealing votes. You can’t help yourselves, can you?

Another one:

All I can say is that since our country was stolen away by these bastards in 2000, today is one of the one or two days where I was willing to say “OK. Maybe something good can come of this all.” I doubt it, cause they’ll fuck it up. But just maybe…

Or this one who thinks the whole thing was staged:

I hope it did go well

But there was something funny about all the pictures they showed. It seemed quiet and deserted, not thronging with voters.

Also, while I hope they WERE dancing in the streets in Baghdad, the Pentagon has staged too many rallies of this type for me to trust that either.

Color me cynical.

My favorite:

I don’t really see what’s so important about this election.

So now a few hundred people get a new title and a new job. That’s not democracy, only the first teensy baby step towards it.

:wallbash_tb:

Really no need to comment on these statements much, they speak for themselves. I used them to show you that no matter what happens in Iraq, in the US, in the World, the left will never be happy. The only way they are happy is when the US is shown in a bad light. When our troops are portrayed as killers, they are happy. What a sad, pathetic group of people they are.

But I digress. Below are some pictures depicting the first Democracy in the Middle East. Brought to you courtesy of the United States of America.

I’ll end this with a report from a reporter in Iraq that speaks volumes about the difference between what the MSM displays to the world, and what is actually happening:

Think about everything you?ve heard about the conditions in Iraq, the role of U.S. forces, the multi-layered complexities of the war.

Then think again.

I?m a journalist. I read the news everyday, from several sources. I have the luxury of reading stuff newspapers don?t always have room to print. I read every tidbit I could on Iraq and the war before coming.

Everything I thought I knew was wrong.

[…]There is garbage on the streets, in yards, in open areas. There is a stench. There is grime. But there are also people.

They are vivid, unlike their surroundings. They are excitable and friendly and conversational. They live in conditions I hope I don?t have to experience in my own life. Yet, if my neighborhood saw two wars, the breakdown of the national and local governments and decline of municipal services, I?m not sure I wouldn?t be in the same boat.

I still haven?t seen U.S. troops engaged or encounter car bombs or explosives. But I did see them play backgammon with some local police and Iraqi soldiers. I saw them take photos with more locals and make jokes mostly lost in translation. They gave advice and expertise to local troops on how to conduct a neighborhood patrol. They drank the local customary tea, and many admitted they?ve become addicted to it. They know several locals by name. I didn?t hear one slight or ridicule of a very distinct culture. One soldier mentioned it might be a good idea to clean up the trash around one polling place, and another commented on the status of women in the culture, but they were nothing but respectful, friendly and buddy-buddy with the Iraqis they mingled with today.

And this is good stuff.

More than anything in the last few days I?ve heard from soldiers and commanders that people back home don?t quite get it. They don?t see the real picture. They don?t get the real story. Some of them, like Lt. Col. Gregg Parrish, look seriously pained in the face when he says only a part of the picture is being told; the part of car bombs and explosives and suicide bombers and death. It?s a necessary part of the picture, but not a complete one, he says.

Other’s Blogging:

PostWatch
No End But Victory
Sophistpundit
In The Bullpen
The CounterTerrorism Blog
Martin’s Musings
California Conservative
Donkey Stomp
Say Anything
Riehl World View
Tigerhawk
Ace of Spades HQ
Mike’s America


Really no need to comment on these statements much, they speak for themselves. I used them to show you that no matter what happens in Iraq, in the US, in the World, the left will never be happy. The only way they are happy is when the US is shown in a bad light. When our troops are portrayed as killers, they are happy. What a sad, pathetic group of people they are.

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Hatred is not a nice place to live mentally. I wonder what makes those on the Left embrace that shoddy mental neighborhood with such vigor. It was amazing to listen to the knews stories. The rhythm should have been (a) fabulous news, (b) fabulous news, (c) fabulous news, and (d) a few disruptions. Instead, the inevitable was “Elections went well in Iraq today with millions turning out, but (a) blood soaked story, (b) attempted election fraud story, (c) angry Iraqi man in the street story. The MSM ought to be pilloried for mishandling one of the greatest stories of the first part of the 21st Century.

Curt: The lefties will dismiss this miracle in Iraq the same way they did Reagan winning the cold war.

They have invested so much energy in opposing every step along this path. To admit they were wrong would bring the whole house of canards crashing down on top of them.

Reagan was right, the lefties were WRONG.

Bush was right, the lefties were WRONG!