Posted on 03/07/2010 5:52:01 PM PST by Yardstick
BAGHDADDespite a spasm of violence early Sunday, Iraqis flocked to the polls in what appeared to be large numbers, in a hard fought and too-close-to-call parliamentary election representing a pivotal test of the country's fledgling democracy.
A series of morning attacks cast an early pall over the day, as insurgents made good on threats to disrupt polling. At least 31 Iraqis died in dozens of mostly small attacks around the country as the voting began. The violence subsided by late morning without the sort of high-profile attacks that have shook the capital in recent months, killing in some cases more than 100 Iraqis in a day.
Polls closed at 5 p.m., and the day's relatively low level of violence was widely seen as a victory for Iraqi security services. Though no official turnout numbers will be available until Monday, anecdotal reports from polling stations around the country suggested turnout was strong. In some areas, local election officials reported unofficially turnout had been more than 70%.
"The Iraqi people have seen much worse than this," said Ibtihal Khaled, a 51-year-old housewife waiting to vote in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Utaifiya. "A few bombs won't keep them away from the polls."
MUCH MORE at the link...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I think we all have to give a pat on the back and congratulations to Obama and his Administration for all their success in Iraq.
/s
>> congratulations to Obama
Indeed the best. They were committed from the beginning and provided unwavering support throughout. Real stand up guys.
This is Bush’s and the Military’s victory with no thanks to Obama, Reid and Pelosi.
Was it just me, or did Obozo sound just blah and very unthrilled when he was announcing about the sucess of the iraqi elections.??
What a P...k!
If you have a subscription.
Bama is always blah when it’s not about him....
Wow, 20 minutes ago they had the entire article up. But they’ve since changed it to subscription only.
Sorry for the tease, folks!
No idea why, but if you use a Google search to get to the article, the whole thing will come up:
http://news.google.com/news/search?aq=f&um=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=iraqi+voters+defy+violence
The WSJ piece is the best one out there. It’s worth the trouble.
AP seems to have lost interest after about 11am when the early violence in Baquoba sputtered out and Iraqis started heading to the polls in a wave.
/s
In this new, PC world, how do we give an "atta boy" to Barky?
Found it, thanks.
Funny, just a few years ago the Democrats were telling us that Iraq was not ready for democracy, it was simply not compatible with Iraqi culture. Besides, wasn't it the height of American arrogance to assume that we could succeed in forcing our political system on another country? Talk about cowboy diplomacy!
Wrong again.
I know it. They were dead wrong. Liberals have a knack for being on the wrong side of history.
I read a great article the other day where a guy had returned to Iraq after having been there back in 2007. He said the difference was incredible. He said all the Iraqis want to do nowadays is talk politics.
These “elections “ were a joke. 460 Sunnis were stricken from running on the ballot after they were nominated. This is an over run by Maqtada Al Sadr and the Shiites . This is a Total farce. It reminds me of that facade of election in Afghanistan where Karzi took your money and bought off his run off opponent so he withdrew and went to the French coast for life!! This smells and Im tired of paying for it with my money (big time) and the blood of our sons!! Get the hell out!!! This is not worth dieing or paying for.
Out of 6,200 candidates?
Is that you, Ron Paul?
What a joke.
Yeah, you are.
All week, Fox has been showing some of the Iraqi campaign ads and politicking. The Iraqis have* caught right on - posters, billboards, TV ads, rallys, etc. And they’ve even had some charges of bribery and pay-for-votes - just like the dems!!
I drove past the polling place here in the Chicago northern suburbs for any Iraqis in country to vote here!
They voted again today while lots of bombs were going off.
It serves as a reminder that we must never take our opportunities to vote for granted.
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