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Thread two: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1331855/posts |
Posted on 01/29/2005 4:03:31 PM PST by Dog
It is now 3 am in Iraq the polls will be opening in the next few hours as the world watches and hold's it breath. Iraq is about to undertake a historic vote.
Lets wish them well....... please post all comments and election photos to this thread.
http://www.sunofiraq.4t.com/photo.html
An Iraqi who just voted photographs his finger.
What a beautiful sight!
Just amazing....
Very poor ratio for the terrorists...
It's 5:00am eastern on possibly the most significant news day in decades and I see that FNC has the B-team in. What are they thinking?
What a great way to start my morning! I especialy love all of the brave women standing patientl in line.
Middle East Countries Laud Iraqi Election as Historic Day
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - People across the Middle East voiced cautious optimism about Iraq's elections Sunday, saying they send a strong message that insurgents have been unsuccessful in scuttling the landmark poll, but also expressing concern that the chaos will not allow for a truly representative result.
The United States hopes the polls would set an example for people across the Middle East, bringing democracy to a region filled with little experience of free and fair elections.
The Abu Dhabi-based daily Al-Ittihad was jubilant, declaring "The new Iraq is born today" on its front page.
Other newspapers were more guarded, concerned about the ongoing chaos and violence in the country.
"We don't want to drown in optimism," Qatar daily Al-Sharq said. "For we know that the elections in Iraq aim for democracy, but it is not held in such an atmosphere."
Iraqis casting absentee ballots in nearby countries said the vote showed the Iraqi people would not let the insurgents dominate the country.
"This is a clear and loud message that Iraqis inside and outside are united in defeating terrorism," said Mansour Ibrahim as he entered a polling station in the upscale Suwfiya neighborhood in Amman, Jordan.
The Arab News newspaper in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia called the vote "a very historic moment in the country's long history," and said it was "a much needed victory for moderation."
In neighboring Iran, Houshang Darab, a textile broker, said Iraq should be left alone to decide its future without any intervention from the United States or Iran.
"A secular, democratic government (in Iraq) is the best choice since it would not have any excuse for war," he said, recalling the devastating fighting that raged between the two countries from 1980 to 1988.
The United States and Arab countries are already nervous at the growing power of Iraq's Shiite majority and are watching the vote to see how an emboldened Shiite population across Iraq and Iran will influence the balance of power in the region.
The Sunni-dominated government of Syria was also keenly watching developments in its neighbor. One Syrian analyst warned that the security situation could worsen if some ethnicities were underrepresented in the 275-member National Assembly.
"These elections ... do not represent all Iraqi sects, which means the security situation will not settle down soon, and could cause instability in the rest of the region," said analyst Imad Shouebi.
AP-ES-01-30-05 0537EST
BTTT!!!!!
Can you imagine how long they have to wait in line? (of course the wait in line is short compared to the life long wait they have had to endure to vote in a free election.)
Key Events Since the U.S.-Led Invasion of Iraq
Key events since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq: 2003
March 20 - U.S.-led coalition launches Operation Iraqi Freedom to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
April 9 - U.S. troops swarm into Baghdad and jubilant crowds topple 40-foot statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdous Square.
May 1 - President Bush declares major combat operations in Iraq are over.
July 13 - U.S.-named 25-member National Governing Council of prominent Iraqis takes office.
Aug. 19 - Truck bomb wrecks United Nations offices, killing 23 people, including U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.
Nov. 15 - Plan to transfer power to interim Iraqi government by July 2004 approved.
Dec. 13 - Saddam captured in Adwar, 10 miles south of Tikrit. 2004
March 8 - Iraqi Governing Council signs interim constitution.
April 30 - First graphic photographs shown of naked Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by smiling U.S. military police at Abu Ghraib prison; scandal causes outrage in the region.
May 28 - Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, longtime anti-Saddam exile and CIA ally, as prime minister of Iraq's interim government.
June 1 - Governing Council names Ghazi al-Yawer, critic of U.S.-led occupation, as president. Council dissolves.
June 8 - U.N. Security Council approves U.S.-British timetable for interim regime, elections and adoption of constitution.
June 28 - Occupation authority turns formal power over to Allawi's interim government.
July 1 - Saddam, arraigned before judge, rejects charges of war crimes and genocide.
Aug. 12 - U.S. military begins major offensive against militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in holy city of Najaf.
Aug. 27 - Al-Sadr's militia leaves Najaf's Imam Ali Shrine and hands control to Shiite religious authorities.
Sept. 7 - U.S. military deaths in Iraq campaign pass 1,000.
Sept. 16 - Number of foreigners kidnapped during insurgency reaches at least 100.
Oct. 6 - Top U.S. arms inspector finds no evidence Saddam's regime produced weapons of mass destruction after 1991.
Nov. 1 - Voter and candidate registration begin for national election.
Nov. 7 - Allawi's government announces two-month state of emergency in all but Kurdish-ruled northern areas as a tool in fight against insurgents.
Nov. 8 - U.S. troops begin weeklong offensive to break insurgents' control of Fallujah.
Nov. 21 - Iraqi authorities set Jan. 30 as date for election.
Dec. 15 - Beginning of political campaigns by candidates, but violence makes public campaigning virtually impossible.
Dec. 21 - Bombing in mess tent at U.S. military base in Mosul kills 24 wounds more than 60.
Dec. 27 - Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, in audiotape, endorses Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq and calls for election boycott. 2005
Jan. 4 - Gunmen assassinate Baghdad Gov. Ali al-Haidari.
Jan. 6 - Iraq extends state of emergency by 30 days.
Jan. 17 - Voter registration for Iraqi expatriates begins in 14 countries.
Jan. 26 - 31 U.S. servicemen die in helicopter crash and six others killed in insurgent ambushes, making deadliest day for Americans since Iraq invaded.
Jan. 28 - Overseas Iraqis begin three days of voting in 14 nations.
Jan. 30 - Voters in Iraq cast ballots for 275-seat National Assembly.
AP-ES-01-30-05 0434EST
That is a great picture.
How many hours in 35 years?....kinda puts it in perspective...
Praise God!
Does anyone recall the numbers killed during the election in Afghanistan?
God Bless and protect the Iraqi people who have the courage to go out and vote.
My heart is joyful at this early morning hour. These people show me that our efforts and sacrifices in Iraq have not been in vain.
Iraqis mark their ballots in a voting booth at a polling station in Mosul ,January 30, 2005. A suicide bomber killed at least six people in a queue outside a polling station in eastern Baghdad on Sunday, in the sixth suicide attack on voting centres in the capital during the election, a government official said. At least 13 people have been killed in the suicide attacks. Five of them were attacks by suicide bombers on foot and one was a suicide car bomb. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
An Iraqi soldier marks his ballot in a voting booth at a polling station in Mosul,January 30, 2005. A suicide bomber killed at least six people in a queue outside a polling station in eastern Baghdad on Sunday, in the sixth suicide attack on voting centres in the capital during the election, a government official said. At least 13 people have been killed in the suicide attacks. Five of them were attacks by suicide bombers on foot and one was a suicide car bomb. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
Denny Crane: "I want two things. First God and then Fox News."
Great pictures....I will sleep well tonight!
Night all!
So is my heart, but I bet Chappaquidick Fats ted kennedy's heart is burdened that the people of Iraq are ignoring and standing up to his allies, the terrorist thug insurgents.
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