Iraqi police and U.S. Army soldiers examine the scene after a suicide bomber blew himself up near a polling station in Baghdad on January 30, 2005. Photo by Ceerwan Aziz/Reuters
Posted on 01/31/2005 1:40:33 AM PST by kattracks
Bombs, a boycott and threats of a bloodbath didn't scare Iraqis away from their first free elections in half a century, which ended yesterday with an impressively large turnout and surprisingly few casualties.Joyful voters dressed in their best clothes, danced in the streets and proudly showed off ink-stained fingers that proved they had cast their ballots.
The elderly and wounded hobbled to polling sites on crutches and stood in long lines for the vote, which President Bush proclaimed a "resounding success."
"I would have crawled here if I had to," Samir Hassan, 32, who lost his leg to a car bomb last year, said as he waited on line to vote in Baghdad. "Today I am voting for peace."
An estimated 8 million Iraqis - or about 60% of the voting population - showed up to elect a National Assembly, which will choose a government and draft a constitution over the next year.
From Baghdad to Washington, euphoric officials declared the balloting a success, despite low numbers of Sunni Arabs atpolling sites and a wave of suicide bombings and mortar attacks that killed at least 44 people. One U.S. Marine was killed in combat in Anbar province, but officials provided no details.
"The terrorists threw everything they had into this fray, and they lost," said Ahmed Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress and the likely winner of an assembly seat.
"The world is hearing the voice of freedom from the center of the Middle East," Bush said from the White House, which is sure to seize on the election results as validation of U.S. strategy in Iraq.
Before the polls opened at 7a.m. Baghdad time, tension was thick across Iraq, due in part to a spate of preelection violence aimed at intimidating potential voters.
Although the country was in lockdown, with borders sealed and private cars barred from the streets, insurgents managed to carry out more than a dozen audacious assaults.
Militants with explosives strapped to their bodies blew themselves up at polling sites in Baghdad and inside a minibus carrying voters. Mortars rocked half a dozen cities.
The Iraqi wing of Al Qaeda, led by notorious terror thug Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility, boasting that "lions from the martyrs' brigade ... inflicted wounds on the enemy."
But Shiites and Kurds, at least, were defiant. There was even a report of a crowd overtaking an ambulance that had been hijacked by grenade-tossing militants.
"Iraqis are walking over body parts of a bomber to vote," said Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), who visited some of the polling sites. "Voting was slower in the beginning, but when people started to come back alive, others went out."
For Sunni Muslim strongholds, the picture was starkly different. As expected, many polling places were deserted as voters heeded a boycott call.
In Samarra, a city of 200,000 that is rife with insurgents, fewer than 1,400 people cast ballots. "Nobody came. People were too afraid," said Madafar Zeki, who ran one site.
Shiite Muslims, oppressed by the Sunni minority during former dictator Saddam Hussein's 35-year reign, were always expected to win the election.
But since no one party is likely to achieve an overwhelming majority of the seats, the door is open for Sunni leaders to influence the selection of the prime minister and cabinet and the new constitution.
Final tallies should be done in 10 days. The assembly seats will be distributed to the parties in proportion with the vote, and the top candidates on each ticket will join the infant legislature. A permanent government is supposed to be in place by December.
With News Wire Services
Originally published on January 31, 2005
Iraqi police and U.S. Army soldiers examine the scene after a suicide bomber blew himself up near a polling station in Baghdad on January 30, 2005. Photo by Ceerwan Aziz/Reuters
Dan Rather and Peter Jennings are pulling out their hair trying to figure out how they can hide the Iraqui voter story.
Suicide bomber emboldened and enabled by American "Traitors" Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, etc. and the entire Democrat "treason" Party!!! This suicide bomber blew himself up and lost his hislife. the American people should rise up and destroy the current Democrat Party in the voting booth.
The left continues to be negative about the whole situation, ie... no electricity, no water, billions of dollars, blah blah blah. Even some dems must be sick and tired of hearing the pessimism.
Do you believe CBS sent Dan Rather to Iraq to report on the election? How can they keep sending this old stooge out to report when no one believes anything he says .
Denial!
This time though, even their most febrile efforts will be for naught.
The elemental truth of this story is simply too powerful to conceal from the American public.
I thought someone was being wry with 'graphic photo' warning and was going to show pictures of happy Iraqi voters. Certainly that's how the MSM would view it!
When I see grisly pictures like the one above, sick as it is, and sick as this is going to sound...it makes me smile, as I know that there's one less muslim extremist, nut case in the world now.
Additionally, it makes me think, "I wonder if his/her trip to "meet Allah" was a pleasant one?", and if the searing heat of that blast, was as hot as his/her eternal life in HELL is going to be?!
They were hoping he'd get himself killed in the line of duty, thus becoming a hero/martyr to broadcast excellence, rather than fading into a well-deserved disgrace/obscurity.
I could see it happening that way, but I dont think CBS is that smart.
Too late. It's out. :-)
Perhaps the Iraqi government needs to ban cars more often....it forces these foreign terrorists to scratch themselves off our list.
We have voters who won’t show up if it’s raining, or it’s too hot, too cold, good show on TV…
Once again I wonder what would our turnout be if people were trying to shoot up the polling places?
Hats off to the Iraqi people!
Well, someone had to take the place of Baghdad Bob :)
"There is no election here"
This needs to be posted on every wall, website, and TV screen in Iraq, along with this statement:
Who is "The Enemy" that al-Z is inflicting wounds on?
YOU, the Iraqi people!
"...GET THIS ONE: A sucicide bomber rushed a voting booth at a school and his bomb detonated prematurely - blowing him to bits in front of the school. Now, all the people coming out of the school after voting are walking past the 'grease spot' on the school grounds and SPITTING ON IT as they go by in DEFIANCE!"
Lots of good news. John Kerry is very, very depressed. Ted Kennedy could become suicidal . .
"Even in Fallujah, the Sunni city west of Baghdad that was a militant stronghold until a U.S. assault in November, a steady stream of people voted, confounding predictions. Lines of veiled women clutching their papers waited in line."
Sunni clerics may have to look for new work……….
I caught about 3 minutes of Dan Rather doing his best to downplay the Iraqi elections and scare people from the polls Saturday. He, MSM, EU and the 60's leftovers are so out of touch it's scary.
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