Posted on 12/23/2004 6:11:35 AM PST by OESY
[C]itizens of Iraq will be presented with a unique opportunity to close a chapter of decades of tyrannical rule and take their first steps to shape their own future by participating in the first free and fair elections in generations.... Iraqis will vote for the Iraqi National Assembly to enable the drafting of a permanent constitution, in preparation for full elections for a government one year later.
As the Iraqi Interim Government, we have been active these past months in preparing and paving the road to these elections. Along with our allies from the multinational forces, we have waged a tireless and determined fight against the criminals, terrorists, and Saddam loyalists who are dedicated to derailing Iraq on its approach to democracy. At the same time we have been engaged in rebuilding the country, while reaching out to all of Iraq's diverse communities so as to ensure an inclusive and representative electoral process. In this regard I recently met with senior Iraqi tribal leaders in Jordan and encouraged them to participate in this historic event.
On the economic side, we have also achieved an important breakthrough in securing an 80% debt reduction for Iraq with the Paris Club group of major lending countries. We appreciate that the United States has in turn written off our remaining debt to it. We hope to build on this momentum to agree equal or better debt reduction arrangements with other creditor countries, including those among our Arab neighbors. This will be an important requirement if Iraq is to have a hope of building the economic prosperity that is so vital to its stability and security, and indeed to that of the entire region.
Turning to the conduct of the elections next month, and despite all the pessimism by the skeptics, we see encouraging signs....
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Allawi is what true leadership is all about.
See some parallels with the election in Afghanistan here:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1307216/posts
The terrorists and the liberal MSM are going to do everything in their power to prevent this election from taking place.
And this guy is unthinking puppet that the MSM has been telling us about? He'd have my vote.
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