Posted on 01/30/2005 7:57:33 AM PST by 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."
Those who complain about "voter intimidation" in US elections are looking like morons today.
9 homicide bombers died.
Are there a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses in your area or something?
They haven't factored in what we call "absentee balloting" yet. Betcha it's closer to 80%.
Nobody wants bloodsucking despots controlling their lives!
Thus, the Republican victory in the last election.
I have great respect for Harrigan--but I think he was a little too close to the action to have an accurate perspective of the mood of the Iraqi people. I HOPE he will be the first to admit he is happy to have been wrong!!
Thanks, kattracks.
I'm surprised! The media should have headlines asking, "How can 72% of Iraqis be so stupid".
Sarcasm off.
Red6
I get this funny picture of reporters and Dems sitting in a corner, hands locked aournd knees, rocking back and forth while saying, " There was no election. There was no election. There was no election. "
ALERT -----
The president is to speak about one hour or so from now.
From post #18, and others, it kinda makes ya smile at how quickly FreePers discerned thusly: "lets clarify; many of whom had hoped that terrorists would succeed in sabotaging the U.S.- backed referendum."
We ate early last night and I turned on the little non-cable, black and white set in the kitchen to check the weather. All three of the neocommunist, old-timey, anchor terrorists bad mouthed the US and tried to dampen today's stories about the election. One of them had a split screen with another scumbag, also in Baghdad but blocks away, and used the difficulty of them both meeting face to face because of security, as proof that a general had lied when he stated that he could walk down the main street. How this added to election coverage, I don't know but it did allow these jerks to bad mouth America, their primary propaganda function!
The MSM doesn't know what to say. So they'll jump to dire predictions, where's the exit strategery, and will GW dare to take credit for Iraqi democracy...hint, hint...he'd better not. Oh, and Kerry was on Meet the Depressed...I only caught the last thirty seconds....Bush had better accomplish world peace, etc., in six weeks, or Kerry's going to get him. Hill is smarter. Just wait. She'll applaud Iraqi democracy and US troops, any criticism of GW will be muted. When her staff thinks of something to say that won't sound stupid, she'll say it. Kerry's fired his staff, so he takes all his orders from Mama T. No Einstein she.
I hope we're forcing Saddam to watch tv today.
Wait, would the dems say that was torture?
stuned beebers all over the place
Remember back in the good old days, when the press ignored Presidential losers?
If not true, still funny. If true, really, really funny.
Wait, would the dems say that was torture?
The sight of millions of Iraqi's giving a collective finger to saddam, the democrats, and the terrorists was torture for the dems also.
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