72% Iraqi Turnout Stuns U.S. Press

NewsMax.com ^ | 1/30/05 | Carl Limbacher

[kattracks]

Preliminary reports that turnout in Sunday's Iraq election has topped 70 percent have surprised American reporters, many of whom had predicted that terrorists would succeed in sabotaging the U.S.- backed referendum.

"I have to say, it's going a lot better than I thought it would," Rod Nordland, Newsweek's Baghdad bureau chief, said Sunday as the numbers came in. "The attacks by the insurgents, while they're numerous, haven't reached that kind of critical threshold where it really kept everybody home," he told the Fox News Channel.

With an hour left to go before the polls in Iraq close, Reuters reported that turnout had reached 72 percent nationwide. Election officials in Shiite areas say turnout there may top 90 percent.

Initial voter response was slow as the polls opened late Saturday U.S. time, but increased dramatically after threats of spectacular attacks failed to materialize. Of 5300 polling stations, only 15 reported attacks. 29 people were killed, including five police officers.

"Once it seemed like the worst was over, [voters] came out in very large numbers," Nordland said. While Sunni turnout was lower, "it was a lot better than would have been expected."

[Fenris6]

Nope. I'm dug in deep over at DU. 1000+ posts. :)

[B4Ranch]

>

Sgt. Tom Blair guards Iraqi detainees accused of threatening people from voting, in the town of Jisr Diala on the southern outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites) Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005. Soldiers from the U.S. National Guard 1-161 Infantry detained three men after local residents said they had been threatening them not to vote in Sunday's landmark election.(AP Photo/John Moore)

Why are they still standing? We need some red to brighten the colors!

[Red6]

:)

Yea, I'm surprised the media didn't harp more on the 30 some dead.

"OMG the horror, it's a quagmire! The US can't secure the election sites!"

They are so shallow.

Red6

[Fenris6]

omg. the DUmmies are having a hard time with this one - already pulling out the usual conspiracy theories:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1196550

[Eva]

Once again, the press and the DemonRat Party have been caught hoping for and expecting disaster

Boxer, Kerry, Kennedy, Biden, Dean, Pelosi, and the press, now make up the Baathist wing of the Democrat Party. Instead of the Progressives, we now have Baathists.

[Veto!]

Wonderfully funny comment about "72." I hope we can remember it here on threads about terrorists, who really are the Muslim mini-minority.

[rwfromkansas]

though higher than expected for them also

[Veto!]

If John EffinKerry had been elected ...would the Iraqi elections have been held as scheduled?

Undoubtedly not. He and Ted Krazy would have marched our troops out of that quagmire by now.

[handy]

Just saw Kerry giving a soundbite on FoxNews, he's disappointed in the Sunni turnout. Bet not as much as he was in the Democrat turnout on Nov. 2...hehehe

No wonder these people are losing. They can't ever be happy about good stuff that happens.

[Raycpa]

"it was a lot better than would have been expected.".

And I'm sure they have already sent their written apologies to Bush.

[rwfromkansas]

FYI, AFGHANISTAN'S TURNOUT.....IN A MUCH LESS HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT:

"Despite violence leading up the election in Afghanistan, more than 70 percent of those eligible voted there."

TURNOUT IS COMPARABLE TO Afghanistan (there were no exact numbers placed, only estimates for Afghanistan it appears)...from 70-80 percent there. This is a HUGE victory for 72 percent to occur in Iraq, a country filled with much more violence than Afghanistan.

Huge.

Iraq's elections were a resounding success.

[jveritas]

I bet there's a tear in his beer this morning because of the successful election

The TRAITOR does not drink beer, it is too light on Alcohol and does not kill enough brain cells, his lightest drink is Whiskey.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Starboard]

What do you expect, not too many people in this country appreciate their freedom (and may not even recognize it until it's gone).

---

That's certainly true of liberal elitists. Belive me, I've known a ton of them and most feel they are entitled to it by virture of their superior intellect and breeding. Not surprisingly, many of these same people don't really appreciate how fortunate they are to have secure and high paying "jobs" (mostly in the public and academic sectors).

[Landru]

"Preliminary reports that turnout in Sunday's Iraq election has topped 70 percent have surprised American reporters..."

HA!!

Yea more stunned than they were last November, eh? :o)
*Right*.

America's Liberal-Socialist quisling mediots live in a perpetual state of satined, one could say.

...pathetic brainstems, all.

[bootless]

Well, Saddam was disenfranchised. Will the ACLU sue on his behalf? /sarcasm

[bootless]

The cup's not only half-empty for Kerry and Kompany - it's bone dry.

[dolander2002]

Kerry's disappointment at a 72% turnout is amusing. Massachusetts had a 72% turnout, 61% voted for Kerry. I don't recall him saying that was a disappointment.

As for the media, Wolfe Blitzer keeps asking the same question, "Is this coverage we are seeing a TRUE representation of what happened?" He just can't stand it!

[tet68]

Jeez, Df'nU is SOOOOOO hard to use, guess you have to be
braindead to stand it.

[gocats]

The crazies at the DU are trying to justify their predictions by saying only 10% of Iraqis registered to vote. If 70% of 10% voted then the turnout was extremly low. Lots of cursing going on over there. I guess thats the best they can come up with.