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What can this be approaching across the sands of Iraq? It can't be. It's not possible. It's not found in this unnatural habitat ... and yet there is. It shows the outward signs, including some of the innate strengths and inevitable weaknesses and distinctive eccentricities of that rarest of creatures in those Mesopotamian climes: democracy. It must be a mirage, like so many other fleeting signs of hope over the chaotic years in Iraq. And yet it betrays at least a couple of the characteristic traits of a lumbering democracy: a free election (at least by Iraqi standards) and a...

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi reached out to his rivals to form a governing coalition Saturday, staking his claim as the top vote-getter in Iraq's elections and saying he hoped to build strong relations with neighboring countries. Allawi's secular Iraqiya bloc edged out chief rival Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by just two seats in the March 7 vote for a 325-member parliament. The razor-thin victory meant Allawi's road to regaining the premiership is anything but guaranteed, and a lengthy period of political negotiations -- possibly punctuated with violence -- likely lies ahead. Regardless of the outcome, the...

<p>Ayad Allawi says he dreamed for years of two things -- toppling Saddam Hussein and establishing a democracy in Iraq. As an opposition leader and then interim prime minister, he helped achieve both goals. But as he prepares to leave office, Allawi worries that his country remains on the edge of a precipice.</p>

BAGHDAD (AP) -- A jubilant Ayad Allawi claimed victory for his secular, anti-Iranian coalition as final parliamentary returns Friday showed him edging out the bloc of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who angrily vowed to fight the results. The results, if they stand, will give Allawi the first opportunity to form a parliamentary majority and Iraq's next government. But they do not automatically mean that he will become prime minister, and the narrow margin sets the stage for months of political wrangling. "On this occasion, I'd like to congratulate the Iraqi people and extend the hand of friendship to all neighboring...

The recent “tiff,” as George Jonas over at the National Post described the brouhaha between the United States and Israel, pushed aside the emphatically more significant story about the Iraq election from the top of the mainstream media’s news cycle. The election by all accounts was fair, yet there is obviously some distance to go before it might be said a culture of democracy flourishes in Iraq — the land once ruled by the great king Hammurabi in the second millennium before Christ. Nevertheless, this can be said of the Iraq election, despite the violence of those who fear democracy:...

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his main rival Iyad Allawi are set to win the same number of seats in Iraq's parliament, according to an AFP projection based on 80 percent of votes cast. Maliki's State of Law Alliance and Allawi's Iraqiya bloc are on pace to garner 87 seats each in Iraq's 325-member Council of Representatives, with less than 9,000 votes separating the two nationwide

BAGHDAD—Despite 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...

Today, Iraqis made their voices heard, and MSNBC wants to give credit to Obama, even though he opposed the surge and maybe they even want to share some of that credit with Biden who wanted to divide Iraq into 3 countries. The truth is that President Bush deserves credit for taking action against a man that was a threat to the USA and what we stand for: Freedom. President Bush understood the threat that Saddam Hussein was, and he had the guts to do what was right. He didn't take a look at the latest Gallup poll before making a...

RVING – Joyful Iraqi citizens from across the Southwest lined up at an Irving hotel Saturday to vote in their national election. "I feel free," said Asaad Alsaaidi of Arlington. "I feel I have the choice to vote for anybody I want. I feel freedom in Iraq." . . . Children accompanied their parents wearing the colorful clothing of their heritage and reflecting the festivity of the occasion. Some proudly displayed the adult accessory of the day – the ink-stained finger of an Iraqi voter. "I vote, my wife vote, and my children put their finger in ink," said Alsaaidi,...

Barack Obama is scheduled to read a statement at 3 p.m. EST about the Iraq elections which took place this weekend.TOTUS is set up in the Rose Garden, according to CNN.Will Obama mention the capture of American al Qaeda member Adam Gadahn?Will Obama wish his terrorist supporting fundraiser Jodie Evans of Code Pink good luck at the Oscars for her Academy Awards nominated film that is up for best documentary feature?Will Obama announce that he's cheating on Michelle again--with his smoking and fat-food eating?Will he use the statement to push his healthcare takeover?Will he take credit for the successful Iraqi...

Making sense of Iraq's January 31 provincial elections isn't easy. That they were an enormous success for Iraq, and for the United States, is certainly true. When remembering 2006, when Iraqis were dying like flies in what the New York Times's Dexter Filkins described as a "symphony of suicide bombers," and when even staunch pro-war American liberals and conservatives saw the invasion as misbegotten, I grow more respectful of my old history teacher Martin Dickson, who counseled to measure time, especially in the Middle East, in centuries, not years. In the streets of Baghdad, especially those deeply scarred by violence,...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2009 – Iraq’s government and its security forces deserve praise for overseeing the successful and mostly violence-free provincial elections that were held countrywide Jan. 31, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Iraq said today. “First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate the government of Iraq for a successful, legitimate and credible election,” Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, told reporters during a Baghdad news conference. Iraqi soldiers and police performed well during the election, Austin said, citing their “well-coordinated and executed security plan.” The “hard work and dedication” evidenced...

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) -- Iraqi Christians still reeling from a string of murders last fall find themselves caught in the middle of a power struggle between Kurds and Sunni Arabs that was fueled by this weekend's elections. The minority community has faced years of violence and intimidation from al-Qaida in Iraq and other Islamic extremists. In the northern city of Mosul and surrounding areas, many also fear the Kurds want incorporate parts of the area into their semiautonomous region in northern Iraq. The issue came to the fore in Saturday's vote for members of ruling councils in most of Iraq's...

Voter turnout in Iraq's provincial elections Saturday was the lowest in the nation's short history as a democracy, despite a relative calm across the nation. Only about 7.5 million of more than 14 million registered voters went to the polls.

An Iraqi man displays his purple finger after voting at the polling station in Yusifiyah during the provincial elections, Jan. 31, 2009. Every citizen who voted was required to dip their finger in indelible ink to ensure each cast but one vote. Photo by Pfc. Evan Loyd, 1st Armored Division. BAGHDAD — The citizens of Mahmudiyah Qada went safely to the election polls to vote during the provincial elections, Jan. 31. With no reports of serious violence, the free election was a monumental effort and achievement for the Iraqi Security Forces. The 17th Iraqi Army Division and Iraqi Police were...

There are a lot of pitfalls in the path to Iraqi democracy. But they're getting the election part down. Today's voting to choose the leadership councils of 14 of the country's 18 provinces was orderly, safe and enthusiastic. As a reporter who's covered three before (not counting the one in 2002 in which Saddam claimed 100 percent support from 100 percent turnout), this election day lived up to its promise to show the best potential of Iraq. In any polling station you found thoughtful voters, like a distinguished architect or the relative of the Jordanian royal family, a retired Army...

US President Barack Obama has congratulated Iraqis for holding a largely peaceful vote for provincial councils across the country. He called the elections "an important step forward" for Iraqi self-determination. PM Nouri Maliki hailed them as "a victory for all the Iraqis". There was a strong turn-out in Sunni areas, which boycotted the last polls. The first nationwide vote in four years is seen as a test of stability before a general election due later this year. "I congratulate the people of Iraq on holding significant provincial elections today," Mr Obama said in a statement. "This important step forward should...

Iraqis held their most peaceful election since the fall of Saddam Hussein on Saturday, voting for provincial councils without a single major attack in a poll that demonstrated the country's dramatic security gains. U.S. President Barack Obama hailed the poll as an important step toward Iraqis taking responsibility for their future. "I congratulate the people of Iraq on holding significant provincial elections today," he said in a statement. "The purple fingers have returned to build Iraq," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said after the polls closed, referring to the indelible ink stains on index fingers that show voters have cast their...

A campaign poster for Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki hangs from a building in Baghdad's Sadr City district, Jan. 29, 2009. The nation is holding its first free provincial elections entirely run by Iraqis, Jan 31. Photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs. SADR CITY — Something new is coming to Iraq.  The signs are in the air, plastered on walls, buildings, light posts lining the road and even strung between buildings. Provincial elections are being held today, and most public structures have, in some way shape or form, campaign posters attached to them.There have been elections in...

BAGHDAD — Flying high above Baghdad, the Iraqi Air Force demonstrated its capability to view polling stations and other potential critical-incident locations in preparation for the upcoming Provincial Elections. This “eye in the sky” is a sensor system, similar to that of a U.S. Predator UAV, down-linked for display into the Iraqi Prime Minister’s National Operations Center. The demonstration of this capability was conducted for the Iraqi National Security Advisor, Dr. Mowaffak al-Rubaie, other senior Government of Iraqi officials, and Coalition military advisors, Jan. 28. The demonstration was designed to showcase the functional capability of the Iraqi Air Force’s King...