Certainly France and Russia have plenty to be ashamed of. I'm not so sure about Ted Kennedy, or Germany, or George W. Bush for that matter. Actually I am sure G.W. Bush has plenty to be ashamed of. I'm very happy that the Iraqis have a quasi election to take part in. I really do think that is good. I hope it is legit, and works out well for their future.
Zarqawi lost big-time today and it's only a matter of time before we bring him down! May God not have mercy on his ugly soul! I applaud the Iraqi people for defying this terrorist thug and using their God-given right to vote for their own representatives rather than have leaders forced on them by terrorist punk-ass biotches. ZARQAWI = LOSER All those threats and you barely managed to make a ripple. Oh...God the great one has spoken today and he doesn't speak for you....Zarqawi the fraud...leader of terrorists, intimidation, and violence for which only hell awaits! The only people you actually surpressed from voting is the Sunnis and, because of that, they lose out on representation. Loser, loser, loser....Iraqi people are the true winners. Why don't you try and kill the whole f-ing Iraqi population you stupid ass idiot!! HAH!!! LOSER!!!
The ones that criticized Bush's bungling of foreignrelations and the war itself were spot on. Those that don't provide needed assistance now to Iraq ... just to make it tough on Bush and the US ... I agree ... should be embarassed. As should those who dislike Bush so much that they cannot see how awesome and uplifting an event this is.
I think this is an extremely important point. I imagine that many 'insurgents' who think they were doing right by their Nation, will now question what their role.
= glynch, sam, andy, hell, i'll even throw batman in there. are there any liberals with the balls to come out and say, perhaps, just perhaps, democracy for arabs isn't such a bad thing, and perhaps, just perhaps, making common cause with murderous terrorists like zarqawi is...anti-american? 72% turnout! too bad we couldn't claim that last fall.
I am happy to agree with bigtexxx here on a Sunday morning. Also, any event that leads to the headline "Iraqis Dance for Joy in Nashville" is an excellent event. I'm amazed that "only" a few dozen or so were killed by suicide bombers during the actual election. That is, relatively speaking, great news.
EDITED How can you NOT criticize both those who didn't provide needed assistance in Iraq and Bush for bungling foreign relations? Aren't those Bush bungled with the same nations who refused to step up to the plate... and instead wanted to continue living off of Saddam's Iraq?
giddyup, there may be no other way to say this: your post makes no sense at all. It simply defies logic. As for "quasi" elections, some areas were not allowed to vote or had impaired polling options, due to insurgency worries. But whatever, it's a start!
As someone who's supported the intervention from the beginning, it is possible to be a Bush detractor (he probably lied, he was a terrible coalition builder, he didn't have a sufficient plan for post-war Iraq). Cohen was spot on though. I hope those who were/are Bush detractors aren't so blinded by that and fail to recognize what a wonderful development this is. Its not like tomorrow its going to be perfect in Iraq, but what a huge step. I would have been extremely pleased if 30% of the voters turned out. 70% under threat of death is massive.
Indeed. Given the decision and the fact that we're there now, we all have to pull for the Iraqis to come together and govern themselves in some way that is fair and peaceful. We'll only know enough about the experiment to judge it in a few years, but this attempted election seems to have gone much, much better than expected. The international press is mirroring this sentiment as well, so it's not just spin.
I wonder what the American left will say now. If we had a 30% turnout we would have had tons of "I told you so's" from them. I wonder if at least to some of them this justifies our actions even the slightest bit. Maybe it'll help to strengthen our ties with eachother here in the states.
For what it's worth, the NYT is reporting that the turnout was more around the 60% mark which is still amazing considering all the threats.
I'm not sure what I dislike more...Democrats constantly claiming superiority when things are going poorly in Iraq or Republicans claiming victory when good things happen in Iraq. Based on the initial reports, it looks like things went fairly smoothly. Obviously initial turnout numbers are unreliable (governments are known for propoganda), but the stories of people walking miles to vote and the (apparently) mild violence is incredibly encouraging. I really hope this is a sign that the Iraqi people know that we want this to be their nation (as well as our ally). I hope they take this and build a government to serve their needs peacefully. I hope they unify against the terrorists in their country to help ensure a stable and peaceful nation.
Some interesting polling info done by Zogby: - 35% of Iraqis wanted to model their government after the United Arab Emirates (one of the most "western" Arab countries), the US was second at about 14%. and -Almost 60% of Iraqis said that they would like for everyone to practice their own religion (Separation of church and state) only about 35% said they'd like for their government to be an Islamic government. And I wasn't claiming victory. All I'm saying is if things went the other way all we'd have would be "they didnt want us there" and "told you so" so I'm just keeping in your minds who made this possible.
If they want everything they just accomplished today to go down the drain, I'm sure they can. Like Bush said, as the current government gets more and more established, it will become less dependent on the US security force.
Glad there wasn't as much violence as predicted. Cheers to the US troops for helping keep the voters safe. Watch your back and keep up the good work. Boo to the lefties in the media wanting people to die so they can bash the administration even more. Thats sick and embarassing. Boo to the righties in the media for trying to sell this as the "payoff" for a war based on laughable evidence and spin. Thats insulting to my intelligence. Cheers to the Iraqi people. Now let our troops get out of there cause I'm tired of paying your bills.
