Iraqi's in the USA can vote in their country's election- what... up to a day before the Iraqi election, and possibly on the day of the election ?
Too bad the US military forces that made this possible cannot vote while in Iraq for the election in the USA- up to a day before the election, or on the day of the election...
Ironic...
Glad to see that Gilligan has a sense of history in the making.
I can't get enough of this! What a great day. God bless our troops who have made this happen with their sacrifice and please keep them safe. And bless the people of Iraq who are embracing democracy instead of opression and violence. Let them appreciate and live up to this wondrous gift brought to them by our visionary President.
With all of the doomsayers ( MSM ) doing their best to carry water for the terrorists, I ask these yellow journalists the following question...
How many Americans were murdered on election day, Nov. 02, 2004, in the USA ? Where did the murders take place ?
DEMS Allege VOTER FRAUD in IRAQ
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1331664/posts
Iraqi Kurds flock to polling stations hoping for better future
ARBIL, Iraq, Jan 30 (AFP) - 8h02 - Iraqi Kurds flocked to polling stations in northern Iraq Sunday to take part in elections they hope will herald a new era for their long-oppressed community.
Pina Mohammed brought her two children to cast her ballot.
"My husband is in the national guard and I came with my children because I want their future to be better than ours after this election," she told AFP outside the voting centre at Arbil's Rizkari school.
While many voters across Iraq were hesistant to venture outside after insurgents threatened major attacks, this school in Arbil's Sidawa neighbourhood saw an early rush of voters.
Kurdish areas are expected to register the highest turnout in Iraq despite fears that Sunni Arab extremist organisations would seek to target their rival communities to discredit the elections.
A heavy police and Iraqi army presence could be seen around polling stations in Arbil, a city which saw one of the worst Islamist attacks since the US invasion when more than 100 people were killed in twin bombings last year.
Hosniya Jabbar, an 83-year-old woman, also made the effort to reach the polling station.
"My husband is dead and my children live abroad but I am voting for the children of Kurdistan, to give them a better future," she said.
Kamiran Ahmed, 19, was equally enthusiastic.
"Democracy is great. We have deprived of it for so long and now we can finally choose the people who represent us," he said. "I hope that that our lives will be changed that those who made our parents suffer will never come back to power."
Jalal Talabani, who heads the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and is thought by some to be vying for a top position in the next government, was among the first to vote in Suleimaniyah.
The PUK and the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party of Massud Barzani are running on a common slate which is expected to perform strongly and secure more than 50 seats in the assembly.
Unlike the rest of Iraq, it is not the first time Kurds in the three northern provinces have had the chance to vote in a free election. In 1992, just after the first Gulf war, they elected a regional parliament, and in 1999 they elected three provincial councils.
But Sunday's vote is likely to be crucial to the Kurds' political ambitions as the 275-member national assembly up for grabs is charged with writing a new constitution for post-Saddam Iraq.
Kurdish leaders want that text to enshrine their hard-fought right to self-rule and want their existing autonomous region expanded to include the northern oil centre of Kirkuk and parts of two other provinces.
Kurds will also pick their provincial councils and their 111-member autonomous parliament.
This is wonderful.
The Iraqi people are saying they are not afraid to walk around with a blue finger showing they voted in spite of the threats. Remarkable!
It's a cloudy, mild day here.
Now, we're digging into our stashes of MREs and picking out the good stuff, since the chow halls are all closed due to the election. We're having a lot of fun...
The cheese and jalapeno spread isn't bad at all!
Ted Kennedy said Iraq is now another Vietnam for America. With Bush beating Kerry and with the elections now looking in hand in Iraq, there are many from that era deserving of a victory lap - they were not defeated on the battlefield then even as we have not been defeated now. This time, however, we had the conservative media with us.
good night all.
Historical "Iraqi Election~~~~~live thread...all of us bump!
GO IRAQ!
FReedom never sleeps!
It's on the march!
Terrorists, Ted Kennedy and MSN beware!
I wish an Iraqi expatriate with blue ink on her finger would encounter Senator Kennedy in a crowded public place.
IMHO the main story here is not simply the turnout and the success of the election, but how well the Iraqis did with security.
72% overall and 90% in some places.
This has to be looked at as a success . Although the MSM are pretty raty. But they are going to have a hard time talking this down.
PRAY FOR A CALM END TO THE DAY IN IRAQ !
CNN has had all of freedom and elections they can stand, apparently. They have moved on to an interview about flu shots and health.
lol.
