Yeah, like most western -- if not all -- "elections."
They should just call them what they are: selections -- made by the ones behind the scenes and pulling the strings.
If you recognize the name from the past, then the next question is "Wasn't that the original plan" of this "failure?"
Yeah, I've seen this movie before.
Early Returns:
This first one is so insulting it really, it brings me near to tears.
This will be how history books describe the current time period unless the empire falls:
"Mission accomplished, indeed" by Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist | March 10, 2010
The transformation of Iraq from a hellish tyranny into a functioning democracy will be recorded as a signal accomplishment of George W. Bush’s presidency, and he probably doesn’t mind in the least that the Obama administration would like to take the credit....
Related: Occupation Iraq: Bush Won Iraq
Yeah, the lies and millions of dead and all for oil and Israel is a big win for the mass-murdering, torturing hero. How can you argue with that?
We can come home now, right?
Iraqis have paid a steep price for their burgeoning young democracy; tens of thousands of lives were wiped out in the horrific insurgency that followed the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
Try millions, but whose quibbling, huh?
Perhaps that awful butcher’s bill explains the fervor with which Iraqis have embraced democratic self-governance....
You know, I read this and I see NOTHING about WMDS that WERE NOT THERE, or all the FICTITIOUS "Al-CIA-Duh" connections, or the "he's coming to get you with WMD off the coasts in drones," remember that shit?!!
Yeah, it's just the PNAC NEO-CON PLAN from the start and the rest was JUST COVER!!
For those who never read it, it said something about the "issue of regime change transcends the issue of Saddam Hussein" or something to that effect.
And here we are.
Of such heroism, a new Iraq is being fashioned - the Iraq Bush foretold in an address to the National Endowment for Democracy in November 2003, when he declared that “Iraqi democracy will succeed’’ and predicted that “the establishment of a free Iraq at the heart of the Middle East will be a watershed event in the global democratic revolution.’’
Oh, I'm sorry -- I had to go throw up.
Six years later - six years in which Iraq was convulsed by the bloody agony of sectarian terror, and in which 4,000 US military personnel were killed - that prophecy is coming to pass.
That is just downright spooky.
“Something that looks mighty like democracy is emerging in Iraq,’’ acknowledges Newsweek in a recent issue. “And . . . it most certainly is a watershed event that could come to represent a whole new era in the history of the massively undemocratic Middle East.’’ On the magazine’s cover are the words “Victory At Last,’’ and a photograph of Bush aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, where in May 2003 he appeared before a backdrop reading “Mission Accomplished’’ to proclaim that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended.’’
Yeah, okay, whatever.
I've been lied to for so long it rolls off like water of a duck.
I'm quacking and flapping, folks!
In 2006 and 2007, few Americans expected to ever see such a magazine cover. Over and over they were told that the war in Iraq was lost, that there was no military solution to the carnage there, and that invading Iraq had been the biggest mistake in US history. Bush’s decision in January 2007 to change strategy and “surge’’ an additional 20,000 additional troops into Iraq was scathingly denounced....
Hey, I do the link thing, too. I notice the Globe's resident neo-con is the only one who does, or has to.
But the critics were wrong.
Yeah, they found WMDs and he was building a nuke bomb and bin Laden was living in Tikrit and.... sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh. Wow. This is more exhausting than running the hardwood.
The surge turned the war around, giving Iraq a new lease on life. Where Saddam once ruled a ghastly “republic of fear,’’ Iraqis live today in democratic freedom and relative peace, dispelling daily the canard that democracy and Arab culture cannot co-exist.
Yeah, there is no electricity, the streets stink of sewage, there are still attacks everyday, but everything is great.
This just gets so old here, and its all gobbled up in the incestuous cul-de-sac of a MSM echo chamber.
Oh, yeah, they were coexisting and intermarrying before we got there and the mosques started going boom --? odd coincidence ?-- and before we started torturing them (another conveniently forgotten topic).
Of course there are no permanent guarantees, and it remains to be seen whether Iraq’s nascent democracy can sustain itself.
I never believed them any way, so.... next.
For now, though, the news is very, very good.
If you believe the same lying, agenda-pushing, war-promoting scum that brought it to you with front-page lies plastered all over the place.
I don't anymore, so....
So good that even Vice President Joe Biden - who a few years ago was calling for Iraq to be partitioned, and who blasted Bush’s surge as “a tragic mistake’’ - now takes credit for Iraq’s rebirth.
“I am very optimistic about Iraq,’’ Biden recently told CNN’s Larry King. “I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration.’’
Yeah, already gave up on them , too -- quicker than murderous Bush.
Back in '02 at this time I was ticked off at the attack on Afghanistan over principled grounds (how was killing more people going to help? Never does, as we have seen in both places); however, I didn't blame Bush since I was buying the government's 9/11 bull at the time and saw he had 93% of the public on his side.
Then he turned to Iraq and it all began to unravel.
I knew those were lies, and kept waiting for the MSM.
They never came, and are still missing in action.
Now it's ON to IRAN, fer cripes sake!
Wow, that was a quicker post than I thou... they didn't even count the votes yet?
"Now what happens?" by Razzaq al-Saied | March 10, 2010
The US role in post-election Iraq is the critical variable. Although Iraq can lead without US assistance, the country is a young democracy that needs targeted support and protection if it has any hope of achieving real stability in a region beset by internecine conflicts.
Translation: We are staying put, America, despite all the yapping you have been hearing for, well, years, really.
--more--"
Oh, yeah, the VOTE, right.
Would you like U.S. stooge A or U.S. tool B, Iraqis (or is it U.S. tool A and....)?
So who did the U.S. favor, readers?
"Maliki’s bloc takes lead in Baghdad" by Associated Press | March 14, 2010
BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s political coalition took an early vote lead yesterday in the election’s all-important battleground of Baghdad, pulling away from its two closest rivals in the latest indication that Iraqis want a moderate government....
And they're off, ladies and gentlemen!
Don't you just LOVE POLITICAL HORSE RACES!!
You SEE -- or at least SMELL -- what they leave behind, right?
The partial Baghdad vote was released amid utter disarray in the election commission’s headquarters, where the results were flashed on big-screen TVs but yanked down moments later, only to be released yet again.
Oh, like in the U.S. presidential election of 2000 and the great state of Florida.
Yeah, we taught the Iraqis well, didn't we?
It was the latest in a series of blunders marring the counting process as results have trickled out slowly.
Uh-oh. That doesn't bode well.
--more--"
"Maliki’s lead strengthens in Iraq vote" by Associated Press | March 15, 2010
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister edged ahead in a tight race in the country’s parliamentary elections yesterday after partial results from all of 18 provinces showed his bloc leading....
Now this would be the point where we here in AmeriKa would turn in for the night.
The tally strengthens Nouri al-Maliki’s chances of retaining the prime minister’s post, although he is unlikely to win a majority that would allow him rule alone. Instead, the narrow race could lead to months of political wrangling as leaders try to cobble together a coalition government that will rule as American forces leave Iraq in 2011....
That's if we leave. The smell of this already stinks.
His closest challenger, the secular Iraqiya bloc led by Ayad Allawi, a former prime minister, leads in five provinces, while the religious Shi’ite Iraqi National Alliance and the main Kurdish coalition each lead in three.
Oh, this guy?
See: Allawi shot prisoners in cold blood
The Iraqis want him back?
The results were based on partial vote counts released over the past three days, with the percentage of polling stations counted in each province ranging from 10 percent to 67 percent. The new 325-member parliament will choose a prime minister to form a government that will lead the country as US troops prepare to go home....
Or to Afghanistan, whichever is closer.
--more--"
So what does the paper say in the morning (the next place I would look)?
"US military hands over prison to Iraqi government" by Ben Hubbard, Associated Press Writer | March 15, 2010
TAJI, Iraq -- Partial election results from Anbar showed a secular bloc led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi in the lead, winning nearly 100,000 votes more than his closest competitor, the Sunni coalition Iraqi Accordance.
Allawi, a Shiite who has emerged as the main rival to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the vote, has been drawing on heavy support in his campaign from Sunni voters frustrated with their own leaders and attracted to Allawi's nonsectarian stance and anti-Iran rhetoric.
Yup, AmeriKa stuffed the ballot boxes for them.
Maybe Maliki should have watched what he said.
The Iraqi National Alliance, a Shiite religious coalition with ties to Iran was leading in the southern Maysan province, another Shiite stronghold, and Allawi was edging out the Kurdish Coalition in Tamim province....
--more--"And the AmeriKan MSM now projects:
"Secular coalition leads in Iraq vote; Prime minister alleges fraud, calls for recount" by Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Ben Hubbard, Associated Press | March 17, 2010
BAGHDAD — A secular coalition challenging the Iraqi prime minister in the country’s historic parliamentary elections has narrowly pulled ahead for the first time in the overall vote count, although it still trails in the crucial province-by-province count.
Oh. This way it doesn't look like fraud, and Maliki is going to have difficulty getting that AmeriKan knife out his back.
He should have known better; can't cozy up to Iran too much. Not twith the U.S. on the Middle Easy beat!
The Iraqiya coalition, led by former prime minister Ayad Allawi, seemed to be gaining momentum, taking a 9,000-vote lead nationwide, according to new totals released late yesterday. But with about 20 percent of the votes still to be counted from the March 7 election, it was unclear whether that margin would give Allawi more seats in Parliament, which will determine who will lead the government.
The news was released as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his State of Law coalition accused election officials of manipulating vote counts and called for a recount, a candidate from his bloc said.
Oh, that's sweet!
We were not awarding the AmeriKan rigging, foul, foul!!
It was the prime minister’s first challenge to the results, and his bloc drew a link between its accusations and Allawi, accusing some electoral commission staff of having allegiances to groups backing Maliki’s rival.
Iraq’s vote-counting has been winding and chaotic, with ballot results portioned out piecemeal by election officials and almost immediately subject to fraud accusations.
You know, like a U.S. election (except the loser clams up quick on the fraud because there is always next time, and the chance will selected then!).
The winner will be tasked with forming a government that will oversee the country as US forces go home.....
I keep hearing that, but....
Still, the momentum apparent in Allawi’s overall, nationwide lead could be troubling the prime minister and his coalition, raising questions about how strong their lead is.
The new vote results did not alter the picture much for the religious Shi’ite Iraqi National Alliance and the main Kurdish coalition....
They probably really won the thing.
Allawi, a secular Shi’ite, has drawn on considerable Sunni support, likely because of his nonsectarian stance and repeated condemnations of the influence of Iraq’s powerful Shi’ite neighbor, Iran.
And the U.S. likes that!
Maliki has drawn on support in the Shi’ite south as well as in the capital.
Not as much.
With so much at stake, several leading candidates have raised accusations of fraud.
What!!! In an election overseen by AmeriKa?
Before yesterday’s tallies were released, Iraq’s prime minister accused election officials of manipulating vote counts and called for a recount, a candidate from his bloc said....
I don't have time, and what does it matter?
Independent Iraqi observers and UN officials advising the commission say they have seen no evidence of widespread fraud that could undermine the outcome....
Yeah, and those same agenda-pushing forces tried to sign off on that Afghanistan debacle.
C'mon!
--more--"
Related: Maliki rival takes lead in Iraq vote count
So what does he do?
Holler fraud and make threats!!
"Iraqi election board rejects Maliki recount request; Latest results show neither man in lead" by Leila Fadel, Washington Post | March 22, 2010
BAGHDAD — As new results from this month’s election continued to show a neck-and-neck race, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki yesterday issued a strongly worded warning that without a nationwide recount, the country could descend into violence.
The electoral commission quickly rejected the request, saying a recount would be neither necessary nor feasible.
Maliki’s statement, in which he pointedly invoked his role as commander in chief of the armed forces, alarmed some US and Iraqi officials who worry Maliki is laying the groundwork to stay in office even if he does not win a plurality of the vote. Maliki’s party has alleged the vote counting has been marred by fraud.
Maliki, a Shi’ite who is increasingly isolated politically, is in a tight contest with secular Shi’ite Ayad Allawi, who draws his support largely from Sunnis.
The popular guy who brought security?
Allawi’s strong performance threatens the control that Kurds and religious Shi’ite politicians hold on government power....
Maliki and his allies “think they’re losing, and they have no intention of giving up their regime,’’ said a US military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“These are people who were exiled and who’ve risen to power almost overnight because we brought them back to power,’’ the official said. “Now they’re going to lose that relative lock on power through these elections. This is not sounding like the peaceful transfer of power is about to occur.’’
You know, guys like that lying filth Chalabi!
The US military was watching electoral centers where ballots were being stored yesterday, worried that Maliki might use the Iraqi military to lock down the buildings and “check the vote,’’ the official said.
Oh, yeah, we rigged this for Allawi. No question in my mind now.
“It’s a very dangerous statement made by a prime minister,’’ said Joost Hiltermann, an Iraq specialist at the International Crisis Group. “If the country is going to unravel, this is the period when it would happen. This is the critical period of Iraq’s modern history where they continue to build their institutions or return to a civil war more fractured than the one of the past.’’
Members of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission were visibly frustrated yesterday as they rejected Maliki’s recount demand, which was also made by President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. The commission had counted 95 percent of the votes by yesterday evening but was not expected to release the rest of the results until Friday. The final 5 percent of the vote could prove crucial, as neither Maliki nor Allawi has established a decisive lead.
Officials from the commission said that there was no proof of massive fraud and that a manual recount was not possible or reliable.
“We are surprised at all these statements,’’ said Saad al-Rawi, one of the commissioners. “Those political blocs wanted the elections; why are they rejecting the results? If they have doubts, then they can just abolish IHEC and do what they want.’’
The center where the votes are tabulated has been a scene of chaos for the past two weeks, as officials visited with complaints and employees were dismissed for making mistakes. But US and UN officials have said that there are no signs of widespread fraud and that the lengthy counting process results from the extensive checks and balances within the computer system.
Oh, a COMPUTER is doing the COUNTING, huh? A MACHINE?
Throw all those results out.
Maliki’s allies said that he was acting in the interest of the state to ensure the legitimacy of the elections and that he has the authority to rule until a recount is completed....
Maliki allies allege that a supervisor at the electoral commission is manipulating data entered into the computer system....
Just takes a software card or code.
No matter the final results, the nation is so polarized between Maliki and Allawi that the losing side is likely to feel cheated.
AmeriKa did a find job of dividing and conquering with the rigged results, huh?
And the MSM gives you that "either/or" dichotomy again.
Weren't there third parties that won seats?
In Najaf yesterday, hundreds of people took to the streets in support of Maliki’s demand for a recount. They waved placards accusing the electoral commission of fraud.
An afterthought, but....
--more--"
Related: With vote nearly tallied, Iraqi front-runners court potential coalition partners
Well, this should be a fun diversion and distraction, 'eh?
"Iraq’s tight race brings warnings on violence" by Adam Schreck, Associated Press | March 26, 2010
Yeah, it just won't be reported back here in the states.
Wouldn't want to ruin a shining succes now, wouldja?
Of course, troops will have to stay.
BAGHDAD — Iraqi election results today will probably show a virtual tie between the two top vote-getting blocs led by the prime minister and his chief rival, a political equation that could add up to bitter political wrangling and risk reigniting violence.
And cui bono?
Better stay just a little longer, America.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shi’ite who enjoys wide support with the Shi’ite majority, is neck and neck with former prime minister Ayad Allawi, who is popular with Iraq’s Sunni minority.
If neither camp emerges with a clear mandate, many fear a drawn-out political debate to form a government could spill over into violence and complicate American efforts to speed up troop withdrawals in the coming months.
That's why I never bought into any of it.
Been hearing the same s*** for years, and then just as we are leaving, the "terrorists(?)" start up again.
They must be the STOO-PIDEST "terrorists" ever!
Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, himself a candidate, called on Iraq’s Electoral Commission to hold off releasing the tally today because he fears the political rivalries could erupt into violence. That concern has been echoed by many members of Maliki’s State of Law coalition, who say they fear the Shi’ite majority could react in outrage if they feel the results aren’t what they expect.
Yeah, if they don't win Maliki is going to unleash his internal security forces for some false flag fun.
Hey, he ain't gonna make it easy for you, Ayad.
Maybe he could get that job back.
Such pronouncements are likely to reflect political posturing. Election officials have dismissed calls for a further delay or a recount of the returns from the March 7 vote.
Oh, so it's been settled at the highest level (see the AmeriKan seal of approval?).
Many Iraqis fear a return to violence between the Sunni and Shi’ite factions amid the horse-trading that will ramp up in earnest once all of the results are made public.
I'm so sick of that sectarian lie.
Memory Hole: The Dream Vacation
Memory Hole: The Uniters of Islam
Occupation Iraq: Sectarian Saviors
Are we CLEAR, readers?
Maliki’s coalition has drawn much of its support from the Shi’ite majority, and his attempts to appeal to Sunnis were undercut by his support for a ban on many Sunni candidates for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Games within games, huh?
The Sunnis largely threw their support behind Allawi’s Iraqiya bloc, which although headed by a Shi’ite, has billed itself as secular.
Yeah, sectarianism drives 'em mad but they.... ah, never mind.
Iraq’s Kurdish faction sees itself as a key electoral kingmaker, though followers of radical anti-US Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr could also play a pivotal role after garnering a significant number of seats.
Oh, first time I've seen him mentioned in a while.
“Everybody’s talking to everybody,’’ said Michael Hanna, an Iraq analyst with the Century Foundation. “None of these governments make a whole lot of sense in terms of consistent ideologies . . . It’s all about wielding power.’’
And on WHOSE BEHALF -- just like all governments.
--more--"
So who "won," huh, Iraqis, and does it really matter?
"Ex-premier wins close Iraq election; Several parties cry fraud amid deepening rifts" by Timothy Williams and Rod Nordland, New York Times | March 27, 2010
BAGHDAD —The secular party of Ayad Allawi, a former interim prime minister once derided as an American puppet, won a wafer-thin victory in Iraq’s election, setting the stage for a protracted period of political uncertainty and possible violence that could threaten plans to withdraw American troops.
Well, that was going to happen anyway.
The outcome, announced yesterday, was immediately challenged by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his supporters in the State of Law coalition, who hurled accusations of fraud and made vague references to the prime minister’s power as commander in chief.
Translation: We betrayed him.
Yeah, this whole election stunk.
I think the Sadr/SCIRI branch really won, but I'm not a U.N. observer.
I only have historical precedents and empirical patterns on my side.
Several parties have cried fraud as their fortunes waxed or waned in the slow vote count, an ominous reminder of an Iraqi political culture where winning is everything and compromise elusive.
Quit hurling the Zionist insults, will ya?
Like the s*** USraeli systems are any different!
Western observers and an independent election commission have said they saw no signs of widespread fraud....
And they also said Afghanistan was clean.
Iraqi political analysts interviewed yesterday doubted that Allawi would succeed in assembling a governing coalition. But even if he did, they said, it would take at least until July, possibly even longer, a potentially destabilizing stretch in which a disgruntled Maliki would serve as caretaker prime minister.
In a statement that seemed to reflect American concerns about the potential for violence, US Ambassador Christopher Hill and General Ray Odierno, the top American military commander in Iraq, praised “the overall integrity of the election’’ and called on political parties to “refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or action.’’
And don't worry; Ray has a Plan B.
There had been hope that the election would spell an end to Iraq’s sectarian politics. And though the balloting shattered the sectarian political template that brought Maliki to power in 2005, when an alliance of Shi’ite parties dominated the election, the outcome reemphasized the country’s sectarian and regional divides and the deepening schism between Arabs and Kurds.
And cui bono?
The vote in part reflected dissatisfaction with Maliki’s ability to provide security, government services, and jobs.
Yeah, the lack of electricity and water services, sanitation, etc, gets a sentence -- because it's a success, I forgot. Bush won Iraq with the surge.
Allawi appealed to Iraqis tired of the past domination of Iraqi politics by religious parties; others responded to his image as the sort of strongman leader they have lacked since Saddam Hussein was ousted.
So all the bloodshed and destruction was for.... nothing at all?
Related: Occupation Iraq: Resurrecting Saddam Hussein
What do you mean that was a VOTE FOR MALIKI?
Reactions in Iraq ranged from jubilation to fear. Some people partied in the streets, honking horns and firing weapons in the air; others stockpiled food in case of violence and renewed curfews.
“Nobody felt happy in Diyala,’’ said Qais Jihad, 30, referring to the pair of bombs outside a cafe, killing 43 people who had gathered to await the results. “It is a win with a bloody flavor.’’
A jubilant Allawi said he would work with any group that was willing to join him in forming a government.
But to accomplish that goal, Allawi will have to overcome deep-seated enmity not only from Maliki but also the other two biggest vote-getting blocs: the Kurds, with 43 seats; and the Iraqi National Alliance, a Shi’ite party that gained 70 seats and is led in part by the anti-American cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr.
Didn't read or see much at all about either one of them.
Odd considering the amount of seats.
--more--"
Think I trust an agenda-pushing MSM to tell me truth about elections?
Why would they when they don't tell me the truth any time else?
