These are the reports we in New England have been getting regarding the rigged Iraqi vote.
"The United States has tied its troop drawdown to a fair and smooth election process.
Yeah, isn't it great that IRAQIS will VOTE to DECIDE when U.S. TROOPS LEAVE, Americans -- and NOT YOU or YOUR VOTE?!!
An eruption of election-related violence could slow or stop the withdrawal of combat forces slated for the end of the summer.
Related: Occupation Iraq: Obama's Plan B
Yeah, WE AIN'T GOING ANYWHERE and NEVER WERE!
You don't build the WORLD'S LARGEST EMBASSY and PERMANENT MILITARY BASES if you are LEAVING!
--more--"
Of course, the MSM has been CONCEALING THIS the past few weeks (except for a brief):
"Killings in Iraq rise as election nears" by Associated Press | March 2, 2010
BAGHDAD - The number of Iraqis killed in war-related violence increased by 44 percent between January and February, with civilians accounting for almost all of the casualties.
The rise in killings raised doubts about the atmosphere before next Sunday’s Iraqi election, which the United States hopes will produce a stable government that could ease withdrawal of American troops by the end of next year.
I keep telling you we are not leaving!
What STOO-PID INSURGENTS, huh?
Casualty figures have fluctuated widely in recent months and are far below those seen in past years, when sectarian violence was rampant.
Yeah, there are ATTACKS EVERY DAY that the MSM erratically covers, but violence is down because the lying MSM says it is.
But the rise in killings is reflected in numbers collected both by the Associated Press and by Iraqi authorities.
At least 255 Iraqis were killed in war-related violence last month, according to an AP count, 44 percent more than the 177 reported in January. At least 383 Iraqis were killed in December and 93 in November, reflecting no clear trend.
More victims of this lying exercise in mass murder.
The AP statistics also show that more violence was directed at civilians than at security personnel in February, compared with the previous three months....
Yup, the false flags are flying high!!!
Figures provided by Iraqi authorities reflect more killings but a similar increase....
--more--"
My printed paper:
"Triple bombing kill 32 ahead of Iraqi vote
BAGHDAD – Suicide bombers struck in quick succession Wednesday in a former insurgent stronghold northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 32 people just days before a crucial election that will determine who will govern the country as American forces depart.
The blasts in Baqouba — including one by a bomber who rode in an ambulance to a hospital and blew himself up there — were the deadliest in more than a month and illustrated the challenges facing Iraqi forces trying to prove they can secure the country after the full withdrawal of U.S. forces by the end of next year.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings but they bore the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq, which has promised to violently disrupt Sunday's parliamentary vote and warned Sunnis not to participate in the balloting. Iraqi authorities vowed not to let the insurgents derail the democratic process....
Yup, the HALLMARKS of "Al-CIA-Duh," my *ewspaper tells me.
The violence began about 9 a.m. with a suicide car bomb that targeted a local government housing office near an Iraqi army facility, police spokesman Capt. Ghalib al-Karkhi said.
Within minutes, a second suicide car bomb exploded 200 yards (meters) down the street near the provincial government headquarters near many police and army personnel.
It was the final bomber, however, who caused the most casualties, by donning a military uniform, pretending to be wounded and riding an ambulance back to the hospital where he blew himself up, al-Karkhi said. Many of the wounded from the first two bombs were killed in the third attack.
Police later safely detonated a fourth car bomb about 220 yards from the hospital in Baqouba, which was once controlled by al-Qaida in Iraq before a series of U.S.-Iraqi offensives led to a drop in violence....
Oh, they KNEW WHERE to FIND IT, huh?
Insurgents often carry out multiple bomb attacks to maximize the number of casualties as rescuers and others rush to the scene to help those affected.
Amazing how the newspaper has such an insight into the insurgent/terrorist mind, huh, readers?
Authorities arrested four men suspected of involvement in the bombings and clamped a vehicle ban on the city, 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad....
The persistent violence has dealt a blow to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's efforts to portray himself and his party as the best chance for stability in the wartorn country.
Deputy Interior Minister Ayden Khalid told reporters later in Baghdad that security forces expect further attacks but will not allow them to interfere with the vote.
Iraqi authorities have vowed to tighten security for the election, including a nationwide vehicle ban, airport closures and the deployment of hundreds of thousands of security forces across the country.
And it DID NOTHING AT ALL, cui bono!!
Also Wednesday, a senior official in Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission said the results of Sunday's vote won't be announced quickly because of the time required to collect votes from abroad and to investigate any complaints. He did not estimate when results would be released.
Except they WILL RELEASE EARLY RETURNS (keep reading).
In Babil province south of Baghdad, police arrested 33 people for distributing leaflets calling for a boycott of the election because it is "supervised by the Americans," a police official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The "free" Iraq?
--more--"
"Triple bombings kill 31 in Iraq; Suicide attacks launched days before elections" by Marc Santora, New York Times | March 4, 2010
BAGHDAD - Even with Iraqi security forces on a heightened state of alert in advance of Sunday’s national elections, dozens of Iraqis were killed yesterday in a devastating series of suicide bombings in the restive city of Baquh.
The attacks began with two car bombings near campaign offices and government buildings.
Then, as swarms of people rushed to a local hospital, ferrying the dead and wounded and looking for relatives, a man hiding a suicide belt under a dirty white robe entered the emergency room, according to a local policeman.
An injured man at the hospital said he noticed the attacker just before the explosion.
“Then I saw a huge flame crashing down on me,’’ said the man, who gave his name only as Muhammad. “There was fire everywhere. I passed out and was awakened by the wails of a woman weeping over an injured 7-year-old boy. There were bodies and blood everywhere. It was horrific.’’
Grieving relatives screamed amid the rubble, calling out the names of loved ones even as security officers scrambled to lock down the entire city.
The attacks left at least 31 people dead and 55 wounded, according to local security officials.
An elderly woman, who identified herself only as Hashmiya, sat in the bloody street in front of the hospital, throwing dirt on her head to mourn the deaths of her husband and son. “Where is security?’’ she asked. “Why are they lying to us and saying there is security? Death has taken everything from us.’’
Violence across the country has spiked in the weeks leading up to the election, with twice as many people killed in February as in January.
And yet if you read my posts you will see a woeful lack of coverage from the Boston Globe, readers!
Most of the daily attacks are bombings, shootings, and assassinations....
Related: Occupation Iraq: Hell on Earth
Yeah, but violence is down.
As night fell, the entire city remained locked down under a strict curfew.
Officials have warned of an increase in violence surrounding the elections and have made extensive plans to blanket the nation with hundreds of thousands of security officers.
Already, the authorities have banned motorcycle and bicycle traffic in Baghdad, and on election day no civilian cars will be allowed on the roads.
Still, there were three small bombings in and around the capital, killing at least one Iraqi Army soldier and injuring five people.
Surveillance at the ubiquitous checkpoints on all of Iraq’s major roads has also been increased.
And officials have disclosed a flurry of arrests this week of people who they say were planning to carry out attacks around the election.
Baqubah, the capital of the ethnically mixed province of Diyala, has proved one of the more difficult areas to pacify....
What a disgustingly revolting euphemism for mass-murder.
Leftover from the Vietnam days.
Delair Hassan, a member of the provincial council in Diyala Province, said, “These incidents carry the fingerprints of Al Qaeda....’’
That's odd; they track back to CIA!
And it is the same damn thing the NEXT DAY (WTF?)!!!
Printed paper:
"Iraq early voting shattered by deadly blasts" by Rebecca Santana, Associated Press Writer | March 4, 2010
BAGHDAD --A string of deadly blasts shattered an early round of voting in Iraq Thursday, killing 17 people and highlighting the fragile nature of the country's security gains ahead of crucial parliamentary elections this Sunday.
Iraq security forces were out in full force, trying to protect early voters in an election that will determine who will lead the country through the crucial period of the U.S. troop drawdown and help decide whether the country can overcome its deep sectarian divisions.
Yup, and yet SOMEHOW the "terrorists" always get through!
But three explosions -- a rocket attack and two suicide bombings -- showed the ability of insurgents to carry out bloody attacks. They have promised to disrupt the voting with violence.
"Terrorists wanted to hamper the elections, thus they started to blow themselves up in the streets," said Deputy Interior Minister Ayden Khalid Qader, responsible for election-related security across the country.
Thursday's voting was for those who might not be able to get to the polls Sunday. The vast majority of early voters were the Iraqi police and military who will be working election day -- when the rest of the country votes -- to enforce security. Others voting included detainees, hospital patients and medical workers....
Let the RIGGING BEGIN!
Many of the blast victims were believed to be security personnel, targeted by suicide bombers who hit police and soldiers lined up to vote. Convoys of army trucks and minibuses ferried soldiers and security personnel to and from polling stations. Many stores were shuttered, and normally crowded streets were nearly empty, as people stayed home on a holiday declared by the government.
In Washington, senior administration officials said a number of potential attacks were headed off by security forces on the perimeter of polling places Thursday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss White House assessments of the voting, would not elaborate on attacks that were prevented.
They also said that so much was at stake in the election that the administration "would not be surprised to see violence" in the remaining days leading up to the election, on voting day or in the period during which a new government is being formed.
This is GETTING FUCKING OLD, readers!!!
The officials also predicted it would be a matter of months before a new government is formed, but that would not affect long-standing U.S. plans to withdraw all combat forces by the end of August. There currently are under 100,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. After the combat pullout, the plan calls for 50,000 troops to remain in place as a protective force through the end of next year....
In the first attack, a Katyusha rocket killed seven people in the Hurriyah neighborhood about 500 yards (meters) from a closed polling station, police said.
The second attack hit the upscale Mansour neighborhood, where a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest near a group of soldiers lining up at a polling station, killing six and wounding 18, police said.
The blast left a small crater in the middle of the street, and debris from the explosion splattered around the crater. Pools of blood and burnt human flesh littered the ground along with broken glass, rubble from buildings and the remnants of shops signs.
In the third blast, another suicide bomber blew himself up near policemen waiting to vote in the Bab al-Muadham neighborhood in central Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 14 others, according to police and hospital officials....
--more--"Web version:
"Violence shatters early voting in Iraq; Six bombings, irregularities at polls reported" by Steven Lee Myers and Marc Santora, New York Times | March 5, 2010
BAGHDAD - Iraq opened its polls early yesterday for hundreds of thousands of soldiers and police officers responsible for protecting the country’s electorate, and they came under assault themselves.
In all, three attacks in Baghdad, two in Mosul, and another in Diyala struck near polling stations where Iraqi forces mustered to vote, a potentially ominous foreshadowing of the violence extremists have vowed to carry out in an effort to mar Sunday’s pivotal election of a new parliament.
There were other problems that could also undermine the elections and their legitimacy in the eyes of Iraqis and the world. Despite months of preparations by election officials and the United Nations, irregularities were reported at polling stations across the country, with thousands of names missing from voter rolls....
I TOLD YOU it was a RIGGED VOTE!
That's why the U.S. pushed it back; because they are going to steal this one the right way (unlike Afghanistan).
The first day of voting, widely viewed as a measure of Iraq’s still uncertain transition from dictatorship to democracy after the US invasion seven years ago, was one of jarring contrasts.
Related: Occupation Iraq: Resurrecting Saddam Hussein
Meet the NEW BOSS, 'eh, Iraqis?
Same as the OLD BOSS!
Soldiers in one part of Baghdad joyously waved their weapons and purple-stained fingers after casting their ballots, while only a few miles away, their colleagues picked through debris and bits of flesh in the gruesome aftermath of a suicide attack that struck a truckload of 27 soldiers who had just voted.
At least a dozen people were killed across Baghdad - seven of them soldiers - and scores more were wounded, according to official counts that soldiers and police officers on the scene suggested understated the actual toll.
With the US military largely operating in the background, the violence underscored the country’s precariousness ahead of the vote. In Diyala, a volatile province northeast of Baghdad, fliers and CDs scattered in the streets threatened to kill voters....
Tired of the false flags and stuff yet, readers. That's all I'm seeing.
In Baghdad and other cities, soldiers filled the streets near polling stations, as did scores of armored vehicles. Iraqi and US officials have braced themselves for violence, imposing strict controls on pedestrian and vehicular traffic and cordoning off entire streets and neighborhoods. Yesterday’s attacks made it clear there were still gaps in security.
Well, when the "terrorists" are GOVERNMENT and INTELLIGENCE AGENCY CREATIONS that are DIRECTED and FUNDED by the same entities they somehow make it through.
As a truck overfilled with 27 army soldiers left the polling station in the once upscale Mansour neighborhood, a suicide bomber approached on foot and blew himself up, according to a policeman at the scene.
Meanwhile, an improvised bomb struck a school in Baghdad that is scheduled to be a polling station Sunday but was not open for early voting. At least five people were killed and two dozen were wounded.
In Mosul, two bombs exploded at empty polling stations, without causing injuries, while another damaged the home of a candidate in an electoral alliance challenging Maliki’s.
The security forces appeared to have thwarted some attacks. In Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, police stopped a truck heavy with explosives on a bridge over the Euphrates. The driver tried to detonate his bomb, but the charge fizzled. He fled by jumping into the river, according to local security officials.
Didn't they GO AFTER HIM and wait for him to WASH UP on the BANKS?
The police also stopped a second tanker truck rigged with explosives in the city, killing its driver and defusing its bomb....
What, they JUST EXECUTE HIM, or.... ??
--more--"
The NEW DICTATOR is MAKING HIS CASE though:
Why no shell game today, Glob?
BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki.... a leader out of touch with the country’s needs.
They ALL ARE, aren't they, no matter where they are found (because they all serve the elites of society, not you, readers).
A day after a series of attacks struck polling stations that opened early to allow soldiers and police officers to vote, killing at least 12 people in Baghdad, there were no reports of significant violence yesterday....
The main militant group, the Islamic State of Iraq, has vowed to disrupt the election, and the low turnout in Baghdad suggested that violence could scare voters away from the polls.
Iraqis living abroad also began to vote yesterday in 16 countries, including the United States.
Ayad Allawi, a former interim prime minister who leads the most formidable coalition trying to unseat Maliki, complained about irregularities in the early voting. He also criticized what he called a government campaign against members of his bloc, called Iraqiya.
So the fight is between two unpopular U.S. tools, huh?
Yeah, I SMELL a RIGGING!!!
Maliki defended the security agreement that set a deadline for the withdrawal of US troops by saying it was a transparent agreement, unlike those that govern a US military presence in six other Arab countries.
And we are not leaving any of them, Americans!
He also said the ultimate benefit of the American invasion in 2003 was “beyond question’’ because it ended Saddam Hussein’s repressive rule.
Of course, the new dictator says that will a U.S. hand firmly up his ass and grasping his jaw.
Tell that to the MILLIONS of DEAD, DISMEMBERED, and DISPLACED, Maliki!
--more--"
Finally, voting day!!!
"Amid threats and tight security, Iraqis head to polls; Three killed by explosions in Baghdad" by Hamza Hendawi and Qassem Abdul-Zahra, Associated Press | March 7, 2010
That's weird; my Sunday Globe article byline says "Rebecca Santana."
BAGHDAD - At least three explosions could be heard in the early morning hours and three people were confirmed dead in northeastern Baghdad.
At one polling place in Baghdad’s Karradah neighborhood, draconian security measures were in place with the school ringed by barbed wire, armed guards around the perimeter, and police using metal detectors to scan prospective voters.
This is considered a "successful" vote, huh?
The election has been viewed by many as a crossroads....
The United States, which has lost more than 4,300 troops in the nearly seven-year conflict, has fewer than 100,000 troops in the country and their presence on the streets has all but vanished.
Yeah, all but.
The monthly American death toll has plummeted.
So the lying military and mouthpiece MSM tell us.
Overall violence is down dramatically, although attacks continue and insurgents have threatened voters.
Are you TIRED of the DOUBLE-TALKING CONTRADICTIONS, readers?
A car bomb targeted pilgrims in the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf yesterday, killing at least three people, including two Iranians, and wounding more than 50, officials said....
Gee, who would want to kill Iranians, huh?
Maliki heads the State of Law Coalition, a largely Shi’ite group that presents itself as nonsectarian but is dominated by the religious Dawa party. Maliki has risen to popularity as violence has diminished but his image has been tarnished by the government’s inability to stop large-scale bombings in Baghdad or provide basic services like electricity.
Yeah, HOW LITTLE MENTION that gets in the agenda-pushing Zionist press, 'eh?
Sectarianism is still the dominant force in Iraqi politics. A Shi’ite-led ban that knocked out hundreds of candidates angered Sunnis. The leader of the ban - former Pentagon favorite Ahmed Chalabi - is a candidate himself and proudly describes himself as “the destroyer of Ba’ath idols’’ in his campaign posters.
Yeah, the INVASION of IRAQ FAILED even as AmeriKa GOT the GUY IT WANTED BEHIND the CURTAIN pulling the STRINGS!
Yup, the guy who had his agents (as well as Israeli intelligence) SHOVEL US LIES leading to those WAR DEAD, Amurka!
But he's a GOOD GUY!
Yeah, bet you won't see HIS NAME AGAIN for a LONG TIME!
But there are signs - albeit small - that Iraqis are thinking beyond the strictly sectarian lines that have defined them.
No, that is the way the LYING, MUSLIM-HATING, AGENDA-PUSHING, WAR-PROMOTING, Zionist AmeriKan MSM has portrayed them!
Iraqis have INTERMARRIED and LIVED PEACEFULLY TOGETHER for YEARS -- until USrael got there!!!
The major coalitions have paid at least lip service to including members of other Muslim faiths, a contrast to the 2005 vote.
Like Iraqis are going to buy that!
--more--"
Yup, had to Google the web to get the PRINTED ARTICLE I am STARING AT, readers!
"Iraq's vote key test for a democracy in progress
BAGHDAD – Billed as a key test of Iraq's nascent democracy, Iraqis fear Sunday's parliamentary election will lead to a protracted period of uncertainty as the winners and losers try to cobble together a new government — even as American forces prepare to go home.
I will BELIEVE THAT when there is not ONE MORE FOOT in IRAQ and NOT BEFORE!
None of the main political coalitions is expected to win an outright majority, which could mean months of negotiations and more violence despite hopes the balloting will boost efforts to reconcile Iraq's divided ethnic and religious groups.
Iraq's second nationwide election for a full parliamentary term comes at a vastly different time than the first in December 2005.
The U.S., which has lost more than 4,300 troops in the nearly seven-year conflict, has fewer than 100,000 troops in the country and their presence on the streets has all but vanished. The monthly American death toll has plummeted.
Overall violence is down dramatically, although attacks continue and insurgents have threatened voters.
A car bomb targeted Iraqi and Iranian pilgrims in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Saturday, killing at least three people, including two Iranians, and wounding more than 50, officials said....
Gee, those last three paragraphs sounded awfully familiar, readers.
The instability also would leave the door open for more violence....
And therefore, we MUST STAY, dear Amurkns!
Forget all the MSM LIES that LED US and KEEP US THERE!
Al-Maliki heads the State of Law Coalition, a largely Shiite group that presents itself as nonsectarian but is dominated by the religious Dawa party. Al-Maliki has risen to popularity as violence has diminished but his image has been tarnished by the government's inability to stop large-scale bombings in Baghdad or provide basic services like electricity.
Deja-vu again!
The U.S.-backed leader also faces intense pressure from his former Shiite allies — the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council and the Sadrist Trend led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — who are closely allied with Iran and have teamed up in a separate alliance.
But somehow THEY WILL LOSE and come in a DISTANT THIRD, right?
In a surprise move ahead of the election, al-Sadr made a rare public appearance Saturday in neighboring Iran, where he's believed to have been living for the past two years, studying at Iran's foremost seat of Shiite learning, Qom.
Related:
Speaking from Tehran, al-Sadr — flanked by two Iraqi flags — urged Iraqis to turn out in large numbers Sunday and give their support to those who he said were "faithful" to the Iraqi people....
Yes, Muqtada is a NATIONALIST, and that is why the U.S. opposes him.
Related: Occupation Iraq: Iraqis Fed Up With False-Flag Operations
Yeah, THEY KNOW, Americans!
It is only YOUR MILITARY and MSM that is OBSCURING and CONCEALING that fact!
Sectarianism is still the dominant force in Iraqi politics. A Shiite-led ban that knocked out hundreds of candidates angered Sunnis. The leader of the ban — former Pentagon favorite Ahmed Chalabi — is a candidate himself and proudly describes himself as "the destroyer of Baath idols" in his campaign posters.
But there are signs — albeit small — that Iraqis are thinking beyond the strictly sectarian lines that have defined them. The major coalitions have paid at least lip service to including members of other Muslim faiths, a contrast to the 2005 vote.
Am I time-traveling or what, readers, because I keep seeing the same thing over and over again.
"What you had basically was Kurds voting for Kurds, Sunnis voting for Sunnis and Shiites voting for Shiites," said former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad. "This time, it looks like people are moving away, not totally of course, but incrementally away from sectarianism."
Oh, ANOTHER NEO-CON SCUM!
************
And what my print article did not pick up:
Nobody is predicting a return to the violence seen in 2006 and 2007. Iraqis are exhausted from the violence, and government security forces have their weaknesses but are vastly improved.
Makes you wonder WHO IS REALLY BEHIND the VIOLENCE, 'eh, readers?
U.S. forces will be providing surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence for the vote....
Then why was it a DISASTER (or why it was a disaster, if you know what I mean)?
--more--"
Time to go to the polls:
BAGHDAD - Defying a sustained barrage of mortars and rockets in Baghdad and other cities, Iraqis went to the polls in large numbers yesterday to choose a new Parliament meant to outlast the American military presence here.
Ever notice the TEMPLATE is ALWAYS the SAME for RIGGED ELECTIONS!
I mean, the AmeriKan MSM reporting on the approved elections is ALWAYS the SAME!!!
See: Afghanistan: Violence and the Vote
Oh, COME ON, MSM!!!!
And what about the FRAUD?
“Iraqis are not afraid of bombs anymore,’’ said Maliq Bedawi, 45, defiantly waving his finger stained with purple ink to indicate he had voted, as he stood near the rubble of an apartment building in Baghdad hit by a huge rocket in the deadliest attack of the day.
Insurgents here vowed to disrupt the election, and the concerted wave of attacks - as many as 100 blasts in the capital starting just before the polls opened - frightened voters away, but only initially. The shrugging response of voters could signal a fundamental weakening of the insurgency’s potency.
Yeah, about those 100 or so coordinated bombs in Baghdad:
Yup, and the WHOLE WORLD KNOWS IT!!!!
Are YOU tired of the PROPAGANDA yet, readers?
At least 38 people were killed in Baghdad. But at the end of the day, turnout was reported to be higher than expected....
Translation: Ballot boxes were stuffed.
The short and fierce political campaign could end up solidifying Iraq’s nascent democracy or leaving the country fractured along ethnic and sectarian lines. But it was arguably the most open, most competitive election in the nation’s long history of colonial rule, dictatorship, and war.
Despite a long delay, disputes over candidates’ qualifications, arrests, assassinations and finally an all-out assault by insurgents yesterday morning, the election took place with only a few reports of irregularities. And by last night, something rare was emerging in a region dominated by authoritarian governments: an election cliffhanger.
Can you see why I HAVE HAD IT with AmeriKa's MSM and the Boston Globe?
Official results are not expected for days, but after the polls closed at 5 p.m., party leaders said two coalitions seem to have fared best: the State of Law Coalition, led by Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki, who has campaigned for a second time on improved security in Iraq, and Iraqiya, led by the former interim leader, Ayad Allawi, who has promised to overcome Iraq’s sectarian divides.
Other major groups vying for power include the Iraqi National Alliance, a religious Shi’ite coalition backed by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr; the Iraq Unity Alliance, led by Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, a Shi’ite; the Iraqi Accordance, the main Sunni bloc in Parliament; and the Kurdish Alliance, made up of four Kurdish parties.
Related: Iraq issues new arrest warrant against anti-US Shi’ite cleric
I had intended to cover that whole piece; however, I'm sick of agenda-pushing, political bullshit.
As expected, neither Maliki’s nor Allawi’s coalitions appeared to have secured an outright majority of seats in the country’s new 325-member Parliament, and so it was unclear whether Maliki had succeeded in winning another four years in office.
That sets the stage for a period of turmoil - months, not weeks, politicians here predict - as the winning coalition tries to cobble together enough votes to elect a prime minister.
Which will DELAY OUR "withdrawal," no doubt!
Maliki’s supporters were saying that his coalition had won a majority of votes in Baghdad, Basra, Najaf, and other largely Shi’ite provinces in the south. And Allawi, also a Shi’ite, emerged as the unexpected standard bearer of a bloc that appears to have done best among Sunnis in Anbar, Salahuddin, Nineveh, and Diyala.
Yup, the former Shi'ite dictator and executioner won Sunni votes, yup.
What a REEKING RIG JOB of a VOTE!
After seven years of a war whose rationale remains deeply disputed in the United States, the Obama administration looked to the election as a test of the country’s stability, a last milestone before the final withdrawal of American troops.
What CRAP!!!!
The RATIONALE does NOT REMAIN DISPUTED!
It was for OIL and ISRAEL!
“I have great respect for the millions of Iraqis who refused to be deterred by acts of violence and who exercised their right to vote today,’’ President Obama said in a statement. “Their participation demonstrates that the Iraqi people have chosen to shape their future through the political process.’’
Echoing George W. Bush, isn't he?
Obama said the United States planned to meet the Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawal of combat troops, and remove the remaining 50,000 US troops by the end of next year. There are fewer than 100,000 American forces in the country.
Yesterday’s insurgent attacks began even before polls opened, with explosions reverberating through the early-morning haze....
The extensive use of mortars and rockets suggested that a weakened insurgency had to shift tactics, perhaps because it was unable to maneuver cars or suicide bombers into the cities because of the intense security lockdown, with checkpoints erected every few hundred yards in some places.
Then HOW were over 100 attacks conducted, hanh?
Please KEEP TRACK of your LIES, MSM!!!!
The insurgents still fighting in today’s Iraq face a far stronger government, capable now of saturating the country with police and soldiers. Even more important, they face an Iraqi people far less willing to support, or even sympathize with, violent resistance against the country’s nascent democratic government.
They NEVER DID!
The attacks united Iraq leaders across party lines....
Another BLOW to the FALSE-FLAGGING LIE of "sectarianism!"
The violence was not limited to Baghdad, though it was less lethal outside the capital....
But it's down and blah, blah, blah.
--more--"
Of course, the vote was a smashing success!
Would you expect any other "report" from the American MSM?
"Competing Iraqi parties claim lead in vote" by Rebecca Santana, Associated Press | March 9, 2010
Gee, why no shell games with this article?
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi prime minister’s coalition and its main secular rival both claimed to be ahead in the vote count yesterday, a day after historic parliamentary elections that the top US commander said would let all but 50,000 American troops come home by the end of summer.
Sunday’s election, which took place against a backdrop of violence in Baghdad, marked a turning point for the country’s nascent democracy.
That must be the eighth-millionth turning point since this all began.
MSM acts like we have forgotten all the others.
Yeah, pass me that salt shaker when you are done, readers.
The winner will help determine whether Iraq can resolve its sectarian divisions and preserve the nation’s fragile security as US troops leave....
Officials attributed the lower turnout to a combination of voter intimidation, more stringent ID requirements at the polls, and a drop in voter excitement.
Wait a minute!! That is NOT what was REPORTED YESTERDAY!!!!!!!
It was "higher than expected!"
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
A spate of attacks on election day, some directly targeting voters and polling stations, killed 36 people.
General Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, called the election a milestone and said that every sign suggests Iraq will be able to peacefully form a new government in the coming months, and US combat troops can head home by the end of August.
But he has a PLAN B (staying) just in case!
Most of the roughly 96,000 troops in Iraq will remain here through May, when the military will begin scaling down to 50,000 noncombat troops by the Obama administration’s self-imposed deadline at the start of September, Odierno said.
I'll believe it when I actually see it, folks. Heard this too often in the past.
The timetable calls for all troops to be out by the end of 2011. “Unless there’s a catastrophic event, we don’t see that changing,’’ Odierno said.
So WHEN is the FALSE FLAG, General?
With ballots still being counted, officials from both the State of Law coalition led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the rival Iraqiya claimed to be leading. Iraqiya is a secular alliance led by former prime minister Ayad Allawi, a Shi’ite, but it also contains many Sunnis....
I smell a RIGGING!!!
Officials from various political parties were present during the regional vote counts and acknowledged that Maliki appeared to have done the best. All of them spoke on condition of anonymity because the vote count was a delicate matter.
Hey, it is their election, so if they are happy with it, fine.
A win for Maliki or Iraqiya could indicate Iraqis’ frustration with religious parties who have been the dominant political force since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Even though HIS IS a RELIGIOUS PARTY (from what was reported above).
You just have to LOVE the DAILY SHIFTING and CONTRADICTIONS of AmeriKa's press, don't you?
Religious parties have angered many voters in the Shi’ite south for their perceived inability to improve government services such as electricity, and many Iraqis are generally weary of the sectarian tensions that have persisted for so long.
Again, NOT MUCH of a CONCERN!!
Instead it's ENDLESS AGENDA-PUSHING STORIES about "suiciders."
Maliki, the compromise choice for the prime minister’s office in 2006, used to be aligned with the Shi’ite parties but in recent years has tried to establish himself as a nonsectarian nationalist able to provide security....
And thus morphed into the second coming of Saddam Hussein -- whom Iraqis just voted for?
Pfffft!
Related: Mission accomplished, indeed
Now what happens?
Yup, Iraq is one big success story, America.
I hope the blood and treasure was worth the lies.
