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For five years Ali and Mohammed have lived alongside US soldiers in their Baghdad neighbourhood near Rasheed Street, a prominent commercial artery running through the heart of the Iraqi capital. During that time American culture and politics have become familiar to them, and they say that if they could, they would vote for Republican candidate John McCain in next week's US presidential election. "McCain would be best for Iraq because he would ensure stability," said Ali, 66, an expert on the Sumerian era. The personal qualities and political platforms of McCain and his Democrat rival Barack Obama are of little...

For five years Ali and Mohammed have lived alongside US soldiers in their Baghdad neighbourhood near Rasheed Street, a prominent commercial artery running through the heart of the Iraqi capital. During that time American culture and politics have become familiar to them, and they say that if they could, they would vote for Republican candidate John McCain in next week's US presidential election. "McCain would be best for Iraq because he would ensure stability," said Ali, 66, an expert on the Sumerian era. The personal qualities and political platforms of McCain and his Democrat rival Barack Obama are of little...

WASHINGTON -- If Iraqis could elect America's next president, chances are good that the next occupant of the Oval Office would be Gen. David Petraeus. Barring that unlikely development, John McCain will do. Or so I hear from an Iraqi journalist with whom I've corresponded the past couple of years, a woman whose family was once courted by Saddam Hussein but who later became a victim of his torturers. Mayada al-Askari, about whom I've written previously, is today a reporter for the Gulf News. Although she lives in Dubai, she visits and writes extensively about Iraq and has regular access...

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told US President George W. Bush Friday that he was pleased with the vote in Iraq as they discussed ways in which the international community could provide help in Iraq, the White House said. Annan told Bush that violence in Iraq was low, voter turnout was high and that the Iraqi people had cleared another hurdle "on the road to democracy," said Federick Jones, spokesman for the National Security Council.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqis voted in a historic parliamentary election Thursday, with strong turnout reported in Sunni Arab areas and even a shortage of ballots in some precincts. Several explosions rocked Baghdad throughout the day, but the level of violence was low. The Iraqi election commission extended voting in the country by an hour because of the high turnout. The heavy participation by the Sunnis, who had shunned balloting last January, bolstered U.S. hopes of calming the insurgency enough to begin withdrawing its troops next year.

Historical Day in Iraq and the Region Now it is the first hours of the 15 Dec 2005. In few hours time Iraq will be the Model in Democracy and freedom for the Middle East and the Arab region. Iraq will lead the changes. Finally the totalitarian and the one dogma dominated region will end. God make people free and no one should impose his thoughts to control the others. Governments are not representing God on earth and should not be absolute power for life. Iraq today will challenge the terrorism and will vote freely for a government which will...

I’ve never before used a long quote from anyone who has, in Dave Barry’s words, the IQ of a kumquat. But there are exceptions to every rule. The following appeared on an exceptionally paranoid website known as the Democratic Underground. See for yourselves that this quote is typical of DU. "The Iraq vote is making me sick this morning "All the media keeps talking about is how happy the Iraqis are, how high turnout was, and how ‘freedom’ has spread to Iraq. I had to turn off CNN because they kept focusing on the so-called ‘voters’ and barely mentioned the...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - 0130iraqvote Iraqis embraced democracy in large numbers Sunday, standing in long lines to vote in defiance of mortar attacks, suicide bombers and boycott calls. Pushed in wheelchairs or carts if they couldn't walk, the elderly, the young and women in veils cast ballots in Iraq's first free election in a half-century. "We broke a barrier of fear," said Mijm Towirish, an election official. Uncertain Sunni turnout, a string of insurgent attacks that killed 44 and the crash of a British military plane drove home that chaos in Iraq isn't over yet. Yet the mere fact the...

It is now 3 am in Iraq the polls will be opening in the next few hours as the world watches and hold's it breath. Iraq is about to undertake a historic vote.Lets wish them well....... please post all comments and election photos to this thread.

In the tight race for battleground state Michigan's 17 electoral votes, President Bush's fortunes may rest in the hands of Iraqis. These Iraqis, however, are not in Baghdad. They're 150,000 politically active immigrants clustered in suburbs of Detroit. Iraqi-Americans make up almost a tenth of the 1.2 million residents in Oakland County, north of the city, where political analysts say Bush faces his only chance at winning the state. The discontent of the Iraqis, a Christian sect known as Chaldeans, is a huge worry for the Bush campaign. "It is incredibly ironic," said David Bonior, the ex-Democratic House majority whip...

BAGHDAD – Call them Baghdad Dads: If America's presidential election were held tomorrow, on Iraqi soil, working-class Iraqis would be the crucial swing vote. "The Democratic party is just a party of slogans: they only call for freedom," says Muath Karra, an eyeglass salesman. "But George W. Bush, he is brave, and he is a man of action. I hope he wins this election, because he is a genius - and brave." Muhammed Shammari, a taxi driver, is a Kerry man. "We want John Kerry to win, because George W. Bush brought harm to America and all the world under...