Iraqi voting has started
 

Around the world, ecstatic Iraqi nationals are casting votes in their first election.

Voting will take place in Iraq on Sunday, as scheduled. Just as there were those who said that the turnover in late June to the interim Iraqi government would never happen and were proven wrong, unless something drastic happens (a definite possibility, no doubt), the naysayers on the election will be proven wrong as well.

Will it be a perfect election? No. Hell, we don't have perfect elections in the US. I have no doubt there will be violence and bloodshed. Just as there have been assassinations and other assassination attempts on the lives of interim Iraqi government officials.

I will be very interested to see what happens on Sunday in so many different ways. While I know that many are not happy that we have gone there, I can pretty much guarantee that most every Iraqi that casts a ballot will be, and every enemy of a voting populace will be disturbed that in spite of their best efforts, Iraq has had an election.

I'm hoping for the best on Sunday.

Like a child borne of rape, the Iraqi elections should never have come to pass in such a foul manner. But, much like the rape itself, what is done in Iraq cannot be undone and we need to nurture, love and support the bouncing baby of democracy. Sure, the baby is premature and hooked up to life support, but it's out of the womb and there's no turning back now.

So go forth and vote, brave Iraqi citizens. The American president is calling for you to display the courage he has never shown or even known. In this case, ignore his deeds and listen to his words. Be brave. Be safe.

I've already voted and I'm not even Iraqi.

i tired to vote this morning... but got lost in the birth canal:rolleyes:

I would love, for once, to see that sort of rhetoric spit at the man who actually guilty of raping the country and people of Iraq.....:rolleyes:

I think it's great- I look forward to the results as well.

This election is semi-meaningless anyway. The people elected will only be there for 11 months before another election is held. They are basically there to write a constitution, and choose a small group of leaders. And on top of that, the northern Kurds (actually, any three provinces that want to group together) have the right to veto any constitution that's drafted.

I expect turnout to be anemically low, and I expect serious security issues. The terrorists have been attacking polling places already, and the polling places haven't even been announced.

But at least we can all rest assured that Taiwan is still under Chinese control.

This is exactly what the spin will be in the media should it come off in a decent fashion. No offense, GD, as I think you're a smart guy, but with all the rhetoric that an election could never be held under any circumstances, i think it is quite an accomplishment that it will happen. So it happens - ah, no big deal. It doesn't mean anything.

That's exactly the spin I heard from a pro-Bush professor yesterday. "It doesn't matter if turnout is low, violence is high, and the result unrepresentative. It's all about the constitution writing process and the next election."

And I'm still not convinced an election can be held.

We can all look at priorities of administrations present and past and disagree with them.

By the way, I dislike the "one China" policy. Suggestions on what to do about it? We are sworn by treaty to protect them from Chinese aggression, are we not? Certainly some inconsistency there, as there has always been.

My point in bringing that up is demonstrating that Bush's rhetoric of freedom is a bunch crap. He's a broken record, repeating a doctrine which he has proven time and time again to not even believe. By focusing everyone on the election, and the glory of democracy, he's hoping that we will all forget about the mistakes and lies that have lead us to this point.