Yet another milestone in Iraq’s transition to democracy: another vote in which Iraqis flocked to the polls, showing a clear thirst for democracy.
And this should be good news for several sides:
- For Iraqis, who are clearly getting an appetite for elections in which candidates have names other than Saddam.
- For the Iraq war’s staunchest supporters, who see the vote and the turnout as a clear manifestation of the fruits of a policy that has mean a huge sacrifice in terms of lives, money and political capital.
- For the Iraq war’s critics, since if this election is successful it takes Iraq that much closer to the goal of being politically self-sufficient and perhaps takes the United States closer to the day when some withdrawals (even partial) can begin.
And the bad news?
It’s bad news to the “insurgents” or terrorists — whichever label you prefer. Because people went to the polls in DROVES to vote. The Los Angeles Times:
Iraqis across ethnic, sectarian and religious divides voted in droves today in a high-stakes election that could determine the course of the nation and the success or failure of the U.S. effort to bring Western-style democracy to the Arab Middle East.
“I am proud as an Iraqi because our country is becoming a center of attraction for all Arab countries,” said Mohammed Wadi, a 50-year-old Shiite schoolteacher casting his ballot in the capital’s Karada district.
“The new situation in Iraq, the democratic system, is starting to put pressure on the Arab systems to make some changes toward democracy.”
In Baghdad, Mosul and Basra, in tiny hamlets along river valleys, in the mountainous Kurdish north, in the marshy Shiite south, in the arid Sunni Arab west, voters packed election centers, which have now closed, to cast ballots.
“May God protect Iraq and Iraqis,” voters in the Sunni city of Fallouja chanted as servants brought trays of rice and meat into the polling center, compliments of a local sheik with tribal ties to the insurgency.
“We do not want violence and for others to say Sunnis are spearheading the violence in Iraq,” said Kadhim Hummadi, 45, who came to the polls with his wife and four children to vote for the slate of Sunni Arab nationalist Salih Mutlaq.
Yet, throughout the country, most Iraqis said they were voting along ethnic and sectarian lines, Shiites for Shiites, Sunnis for Sunnis and Kurds for Kurds.
(Well, then they’re learning the segmentation aspect of democracy well: after all many people in the United States will only vote for social conservatives if they’re social conservatives, liberals if they’re liberals, conservatives if they’re conservatives, Democrats if they’re Democrats, Republicans if they’re Republicans. Etc.) Reuters’ report includes this:
In Falluja turnout touched 70 percent, local officials said, and in Kurdish regions and the Shi’ite south it was also high.
There was a range of complaints about voting irregularities, and allegations flew about attempts to influence the vote in some northern cities, but overall the process went smoothly, the Electoral Commission said in Baghdad.
“I’m delighted to be voting for the first time because this election will lead to American occupation forces leaving,” said Jamal Mahmoud, 21, in the battle-scarred Sunni city of Ramadi.
The blog Iraq The Model offers tons of updated first-hand info and some photos that communicate the mood on election day. Just read this portion (but read the whole thing) indicating how the people are REJECTING terrorist threats:
Last night was really tough and long because we spent it under the pressure of the Arabic MSM terrifying the people and spreading Zarqawi threats that it would be a bloody day. On the other hand a rumor spread out in the middle of the night telling that the water is poisoned, well I guess the “antihuman” wanted to poison our election day.
Early in the morning the Iraqis flocked toward the polling centers not caring about some mortars that went down here and there, the kids kept on playing soccer in the empty streets, the mosques-Sunni and Shii-were calling and urging people to vote.
There was a little difference in the two calls; while the Sunni were calling the people to vote for the sake of Arab Nationalism the Shia mosques were calling to vote under the Fatwa of Sistani whom being fiercely attacked by al-Jazeera news channel and this made his Fatwa gain more voters.
Al-Haj Abo Mohammed al-Furaiji took all his family members that were eligible to vote and soon they all walked out from the polling center smiling and saying “we chose what we wanted”.
Shandookh Alwan Ibrahim, a disabled man on wheelchair and a father of three young men who were executed by Saddam said: “Our future is in our hands, today is the celebration day for the poor and I’m one of them and we need someone in charge who can shoulder the responsibility.”
The New York Times noted one of the most significant aspects of this vote:
The day’s most dramatic events unfolded in the country’s Sunni Arab neighborhoods, where hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who had boycotted the election in January came out this time to vote. Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad, like Adamiya, and in Kirkuk and Western Mosul, ordinarily tense and bereft of security, were filled with Iraqis walking to polling centers and lining up to cast their ballots.
Can you sense a feeling now that Iraqis are coming to EXPECT democracy — as part of their way of life? If not:
Even in Anbar Province, where concerns about violence kept about a quarter of the province’s 207 polling sites closed, American Marine officers said the voting far exceeded their expectations.
“Last time, if you voted, you died,” said Abdul Jabbar Mahdi, a Sunni Arab who brought his wife and three children to a polling station in the ordinarily tense neighborhood of Adamiya. “God willing, this election will lead to peace.”
“I’m going to go and bring my mother,” Mr. Jabbar said, and a few minutes later he did, leading his 70-year-old mom into the polling place.
For a day, at least, many Iraqi Sunnis seemed won over, if not to the American presence in their country, then to the idea that they could realize their interests by the ballot and not the gun. The big Sunni turnout was helped along by the declarations of several insurgent groups, like the Islamic Army, that they would refrain from attacking polling centers. Even a declaration by several hard-core militant groups like Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia denouncing the election included no threats to attack on election day.
What does it mean? That will be fleshed out more fully in the days to come — and breaking events will determine whether this was a milestone with a calming political impact or more of a historic milestone in terms of an election in a new democracy. But, the Washington Post reports, experts are saying it’s much too early to draw
definitive conclusions:
For President Bush, the strong turnout for Iraq’s election yesterday may represent the best day since the fall of Baghdad 32 months ago because all major factions participated in the political process, according to U.S. and Middle East analysts. But the sobering reality, they added, is that the vote by itself did not resolve Iraq’s lingering political disputes.
On the other hand, did anyone really expect that the lingering political disputes — reflecting years of rivalries and tensions — could be solved with one election? More from the POST:
But even some Republicans urged caution in assessing the results yesterday, while congressional Democrats called on the White House to use the election to accelerate the transition and create the conditions for the redeployment of U.S. forces out of Iraq.
In Baghdad for election day, Republican Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) said the vote provided a “second chance,” but he also warned that the successful day should not be interpreted as a solution to Iraq’s problems. “Really, in many ways, they’re just beginning,” he said in an interview with NBC’s “Today” show.
Anthony H. Cordesman, a Persian Gulf military expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed. He said the vote is not the long-awaited turning point but rather a trigger for launching a new political process next year that will include amending a constitution. That, he said, will better determine whether Iraq has a chance of emerging out of turmoil.
So just as there have been no easy answers about this war all along…there are no easy answers. Just, on election day, hopes raised and — in the often-courageous and defiant act of voting — being realized. Which, on December 16, 2005 at least, may be enough and a lot…
A CROSS-SECTION OF OTHER VOICES ON THIS STORY (these are only excerpts so please read the whole posts):
–The Indepundit Citizen Smash has (as always) a highly classy post with news excerpts, a few of his comments and artfully-posted photos.
—Michell Malkin has (as usual) an excellent news/blog link roundup.
—Crooks And Liars on Joe Biden’s purple finger.
Even with the media relentlessly focused on death tolls and bombings, it began to appear that the rate of violence had scaled down significantly. That may have come from a temporary pause in operations among the Ba’athist insurgents, the remnants of the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein. Those forces, primarily Sunni, have instead switched to defending the Sunni minority in order to guarantee a high turnout for Sunni voters and their slate of candidates. The rumored strong turnout appears to have been encouraged by these native terrorists, keen on ensuring that the Sunnis get represented in the four-year government in much better proportion than their boycott left them last January.
I sincerely hope that this election does bring Iraq closer to democracy, that it represents in some small way the vaunted “advance of freedom” Scottie says it does. I love the idea of purple fingers against insurgents’ bombs. It makes for some lovely imagery. But we’ve long since learned that imagery isn’t enough to win this war. All the “Mission Accomplished” banners in the world aren’t enough to overcome the reality of a poorly planned and ineptly conducted war. And all the purple fingers in Arabia aren’t enough to create democracy. At least not yet.
So what can I say about the Iraq elections that hasn’t been said before, more eloquently, by someone else? This is the culmination of everything that so many Americans have died for in that country, a new beginning for a people who have been fucked over for far too long. Voter turnout was higher than what you see in most the world’s major democracies, including our own, and the violence was lower than expected. As expected, the relative silence from the media is deafening.
And I hope those naysayers who say there is no purpose to our being in Iraq — I hope you LISTENED to the Iraqi voters — who spoke and attested to the HOPE they now have… and who proved by going to the polls in massive numbers that there is a purpose — a noble purpose — and our soldiers have not died in vain. And THANK YOU to our wonderful military who have worked so hard and tirelessly and have given so much to this effort — and to those US politicians who believed and still believe that we must stay the course in Iraq.
As the Iraqis vote in large numbers it is important to realize they are only half of the equation. I truly hope they can get past their secular and religious difficulties and form a stable government. But we still have the other half of the equation, the United States, specifically the Bush administration. While 80% of the Iraqis want the US out of their country the Bush administration has no intention of leaving. One of the reasons, if not the primary reason, behind the invasion of Iraq was to establish a permanent US military presence there. Regardless of the spin coming from Bush and his administration that is the meaning of victory and anything less will be a loss for Cheney and the petroleum posse.
—Andrew Sullivan ties several things together:
This is such a great, great day. Iraqis turn out in massive numbers to move their country forward; and America regains her honor by finally, unequivocally reasserting a ban on torture and adherence to the U.N. Convention on Torture. I’ll have more to say tomorrow. But the sight of so many Arab and Kurdish Muslims having a chance to actually determine their own future is inspiring. We have so much more work to do; but now we can hold our heads up in pride. The heroes within the military and CIA and diplomatic services who resisted and finally overcame the Cheney-Rumsfeld axis of brutality deserve congratulations. John McCain has served one more mission in defense of his country’s ideals.