Sunni turnout negligible
"In war-ravaged Falluja, nearly all residents stayed at home despite the presence of five polling stations. Only one man was reported to have voted." - Al Jazzera
Iraq Election May Worsen Sectarian, Ethnic Tension
"Sunnis may feel more excluded than ever by a poll that is going ahead without them. 'The people who have been sidelined until now will be even more resentful — Sunni Arabs who have been made refugees from their own cities like Fallujah, or have been threatened by insurgents, or are just fed up and scared,” said Rime Allaf of London’s Royal Institute of International Affairs." - Alistair Lyon, Reuters
The Voting Process
"More than 14 million Iraqis are registered to vote at nearly 6,000 voting centers." - State Department
The reports I am seeing say that we won't have any real numbers on turnout for at least a week. That is understandable since it is their first election and the counting of millions of ballots with over 140 candidates has to be a difficult process. It appears the elections overall went pretty well. The concerns I have heard are over Sunni turnout, which was expected to be low. Our staff at The Chief Source will be tracking the results closely.
Also, scratch Evan Bayh off the list of candidates for President in 2008.
By Kyle - 1/30/2005
5 Comments:
So it turns out that the people of Iraq have a desire for the same democracy that Bush has been fighting for this whole time. Powerful governments in alignment with social trends don’t loose out to extreme insurgents. Finally we will have a reasonable state to trade oil with. Not to mention, the Middle East will now have a first hand look at a democratic, capitalistic society. I would imagine it is only a matter of time before this dangerously backward, religious region will begin to transform into a relatively productive, harmonious place. It looks as though the persistence and determination of our administration has created the beginning of stability in the Arab world.
Today should serve as a lesson to you all. Your short minded compassion, although well meant, is rarely the best route. For those of you who would have chosen to run at the first site of a bloody marine, realize that time, and the sacrifices that accompany it, has always been the biggest factor. In fact, time, as it relates to big picture ideals, seems to be alluding your knee-jerk sympathy for all people. Remember that the appeasement of all things is impossible, but the drive toward a democratic modernization of this world is very much possible and very much a beginning to a healthy, productive global community.
History has shown little value for the “liberal” minded pursuit as it exists today. The Iraqi election gave witness to the power of an aggressive move toward a justifiable, humane goal. I can appreciate the role you all play in the demanding of integrity with regards to intentions, but I am grateful that the Bush administration, and the American people as a whole, do not take your cries to seriously.
Nugent, it is a bit early to be talking about "lessons" and "history." None of the numbers are in from the Election. At least wait until the results make the newspaper before writing a conclusion for the history books.
yeah, Chris, hang on a bit.
1) We'll see how this plays out. I think it does show the oppression of the world and their strong desire for freedom.....just like the people throughout china, africa, and other parts of the middle east.
2) COME ON! WHAT BUSH HAS BEEN FIGHTING FOR THIS WHOLE TIME! I know you are busy going to tijauna, but are you aware that this war was supposed to be because of WMD, 9/11 ties, terrorist ties, etc. This democracy stuff is what "Bush has been fighting for" for about 8 months.
3) 1 Thing still remains. Iraq is the largest training/breeding ground for terrorists in the world. That's not good.
My Side: "Preemptive war on innocent nations/people is bad"
Opponents: "Preemptive war is good....we cannot wait to verify our intelligence because there's going to be a mushroom cloud tomorrow"
I still like my original reason for opposing the war. I hope the other side now knows how dumb their original cause was. And I think if people of my thinking remember that those 2 arguments will never change, its okay to just be really happy for the iraqis, and hope they can have a free nation.
I would say overall, there is a bit of irony to this all.
I am all in favor of freeing the oppressed and I think most "liberals" would fight for such causes.
Seeing the joy on women's faces when they vote was a great feeling, and makes me wonder what my problem is.
Yet I really cannot support THIS war because of the misleading/lies, the rush to war, and my lack of trust in this new justification "democracy"
okay, so here is the irony. Many of the bush supporters that are now support "freedom and democracy" for the middle east are the very ones that have little value for these middle easterns lives.
Examples:
-- A roommate of mine when the war started (bush supporter) came down stairs yelling: "they're finally bombing some TOWELHEADS".
-- They laugh at Abu Ghraib and claim its nothing.
-- They dont ever mention the loss of iraqi civilians and often tell me to shup up about it.
So these type of people are the ones that value democracy and liberation of the Iraqis? I doubt it.
I think that both sides have gotten distorted in little parts of this big picture. People like myself discredit the elections, when we should be praising them for helping free oppressed people.
And the typical american flag totting bush supporter should be mocking the election, because "who gives a shit about them!"
But we are both doing the opposite. I think its because of the big picture of how this war started.
See because if the middle east somehow triggers into all nations of freedom from iraq.....that is great....and it still wasn't the bush people's reason for going to Iraq.
hahahahaha,
thats all i could do when i read nugents post. you would think it was V-E day by the way he is talking(WWII for you kids.) how many people voted in falluja chris?
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