Voting for IRAQ has begun in the U.S.

[cwohardy]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=2&u=/ap/20050129/ap_on_re_mi_ea/us_iraq_overseas_vote (http://)

Adim Altalibi struggled to hold back tears Friday after voting in an Iraqi election for the first time. All he could think about were his five nephews, all killed under Saddam Hussein regime.


"We lost a lot of our young men and women struggling against Saddam Hussein. It's paid off now," said Altalibi, 55, an engineer who left Iraq in 1987 and cast his ballot Friday at a suburban Detroit voting site that was once a home-improvement store.

:2thumbs:

[MetalMilitia]

Well I hope they're careful...

US and allies 'kill most Iraqis' - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/4217413.stm

The civilian death toll for the last six months is contained in confidential records obtained by Panorama.

More than 2,000 civilians were killed by the authorities, while insurgent attacks accounted for 1,200 deaths.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health figures are usually available only to members of Iraq's cabinet.

The data covers the period 1 July 2004 to 1 January 2005, and relates to all conflict-related civilian deaths and injuries recorded by Iraqi public hospitals. The figures exclude, where known, the deaths of insurgents.


Conflict-related civilian deaths in Iraq. July 2004 to January 2005
3,274 civilians killed in total
2,041 by coalition and Iraqi security forces
1,233 by insurgents
12,657 civilians wounded in total
8,542 by coalition and Iraqi security forces
4,115 by insurgents

The figures reveal that 3,274 Iraqi civilians were killed and 12,657 wounded in conflict-related violence during the period.

Of those deaths, 60% - 2,041 civilians - were killed by the coalition and Iraqi security forces. A further 8,542 were wounded by them.

Insurgent attacks claimed 1,233 lives, and wounded 4,115 people, during the same period.

----------------

Maybe they're offering free headwound dressing and gauze with every vote?

[cwohardy]

Maybe they're offering free headwound dressing and gauze with every vote?

Just goes to show you how blessed we are to live in a country where that is not an issue.

GENERAL QUESTION TO ANYONE READING THIS..........

WOULD YOU RISK PHYSICAL BODILY HARM TO YOURSELF OR FAMILY FOR THE CHANCE TO BE ABLE TO VOTE?

HHHMMMM THINK I'LL ADD A POLL

I personally know people who have gone to Iraq and died so that these people can vote . That exact scenario could happen to me.They didn't go over there because of Bush/Blair/oil or for anything else. They went because they believed everyone should be able to have the freedom to vote (amongst other things).

Maybe another poll should be Are You willing to die so that someone else can vote? I am...............

[Bigsky770]

. . .I'd go armed. Yup/all the way too the booth. Locked and loaded, and ready to Rock-n-Roll. That way, (if they were to try and stop me, they'd know I ain't goin' down w/o a fight) I ALWAYS VOTE.

Joe (Bigsky770) :jamn:

[substand]

Iraqis dance at the chance to vote. Very little violence at polls. the "streets will run with blood," not.

so was it more successful than you imagined? it was for me.

[substand]

3,274 civilians killed in total

what happened to the other 96,726 civilians killed that the british doctors "predicted?"

[MetalMilitia]

what happened to the other 96,726 civilians killed that the british doctors "predicted?"Thats the total of people killed since we got there, and the 100,000 mark is correct... it isnt a "prediction", as it has laready happened.

Statistically, people have been counting since day 1 - http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ or http://www.iraqbodycount.net/database/

15563 - 17789 civilians that we know about... but I would assume they aren't counting most "men" as civilians, because they COULD have been one of 'dem nasty 'ol insurgents.

[MetalMilitia]

They had "millions of voters" in just a few hours right? Then im sure they had to stand in line for 8 hours like some places in the US.

Sounds Fishy. Was there any reports, in war-torn Iraq, where there was a line of Iraqi citizens, having to wait 6 to 8 hours to vote? Yeah that makes sense. Last night, on CNN, They had two reporters at polling stations. One was in Basra, I think, and the other in the Kurdish north. The reporter in Basra nearly fell down laughing when asked about the turnout. The elections officials were still a noshow over an hour after the polls opened.

In the North the Kurds were voting like crazy. I'd bet this is where turnout was highest. But the rest of Iraq seems to be basically a noshow. How is anybody supposed to believe that in a country where the electricity only works a few hours a day and they vote by putting paper ballots into big plastic boxes, anyone could possibly have this data so quickly?

Anyhoo...
Even if it did go all "smooth" and the vote is in, it's time for the US to get out. No wmds, no 911 ties, evil saddam is in US custody, and they are now "free" - so let's GTFO.

[cwohardy]

Even if it did go all "smooth" and the vote is in, it's time for the US to get out. No wmds, no 911 ties, evil saddam is in US custody, and they are now "free" - so let's GTFO.

yep , just people free to vote for who they want, not terrified their daughters will be raped and thrown back out on the street, free from state sponsored torture, free from state sponsored mass killing via deadly chemicals, and lordy does this list go on.

just free

By Luke Baker

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Some came on crutches, others walked for miles then struggled to read the ballot, but across Iraq, millions turned out to vote Sunday, defying insurgents who threatened a bloodbath.

Suicide bombs and mortars killed at least 27 people, but voters still came out in force for the first multi-party poll in 50 years. In some places they cheered with joy at their first chance to cast a free vote, in others they shared chocolates.

Even in Falluja, the Sunni city west of Baghdad that was a militant stronghold until a U.S. assault in November, a steady stream of people turned out, confounding expectations. Lines of veiled women clutching their papers waited to vote.

"We want to be like other Iraqis, we don't want to always be in opposition," said Ahmed Jassim, smiling after he voted.

In Baquba, a rebellious city northeast of Baghdad, spirited crowds clapped and cheered at one voting station. In Mosul, scene of some of the worst insurgent attacks in recent months, U.S. and local officials said turnout was surprisingly high.

One of the first to vote was President Ghazi al-Yawar, a Sunni Muslim Arab with a large tribal following, who cast his ballot inside Baghdad's fortress-like Green Zone.

"Thanks be to God," he told reporters, emerging from the booth with his right index finger stained with bright blue ink to show he had voted. "I hope everyone will go out and vote."

In the relatively secure Kurdish north, people flowed steadily to the polls. One illiterate man in Arbil, 76-year-old Said Rasool, came alone and was turned away, unable to read the ballot paper. He said he would return with someone to help.

Even in the so-called "triangle of death," a hotbed of Sunni insurgency south of Baghdad, turnout was solid, officials said.

http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050130/2005-01-30T141229Z_01_BAK023473_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-IRAQ-ELECTION-SCENE-DC.html

[substand]

Thats the total of people killed since we got there, and the 100,000 mark is correct... it isnt a "prediction", as it has laready happened.

Statistically, people have been counting since day 1 - http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ or http://www.iraqbodycount.net/database/

15563 - 17789 civilians that we know about... but I would assume they aren't counting most "men" as civilians, because they COULD have been one of 'dem nasty 'ol insurgents.

so the "bloodiest" six months produced 3k deaths and the other 18 months produced 97k.


They had "millions of voters" in just a few hours right? Then im sure they had to stand in line for 8 hours like some places in the US.

The US had millions of voters in just a few hours too. Are you already calling it a conspiracy, insinuating very few people voted? Its not like they all voted in 1 spot.


But the rest of Iraq seems to be basically a noshow. How is anybody supposed to believe that in a country where the electricity only works a few hours a day and they vote by putting paper ballots into big plastic boxes, anyone could possibly have this data so quickly?

No one has any data right now, only basically observations extrapolated to the general case. And the south was not a "no show." they said even ppl were voting in the sunni triangle of violence, but in lower numbers.


Even if it did go all "smooth" and the vote is in, it's time for the US to get out. No wmds, no 911 ties, evil saddam is in US custody, and they are now "free" - so let's GTFO.

its not the end of violence, and i would venture to say they still need our help in patrolling and whatnot.

[DonkeyPunch]

Well I hope they're careful...

US and allies 'kill most Iraqis' - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/4217413.stm

The civilian death toll for the last six months is contained in confidential records obtained by Panorama.

More than 2,000 civilians were killed by the authorities, while insurgent attacks accounted for 1,200 deaths.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health figures are usually available only to members of Iraq's cabinet.

The data covers the period 1 July 2004 to 1 January 2005, and relates to all conflict-related civilian deaths and injuries recorded by Iraqi public hospitals. The figures exclude, where known, the deaths of insurgents.


Conflict-related civilian deaths in Iraq. July 2004 to January 2005
3,274 civilians killed in total
2,041 by coalition and Iraqi security forces
1,233 by insurgents
12,657 civilians wounded in total
8,542 by coalition and Iraqi security forces
4,115 by insurgents

The figures reveal that 3,274 Iraqi civilians were killed and 12,657 wounded in conflict-related violence during the period.

Of those deaths, 60% - 2,041 civilians - were killed by the coalition and Iraqi security forces. A further 8,542 were wounded by them.

Insurgent attacks claimed 1,233 lives, and wounded 4,115 people, during the same period.

----------------

Maybe they're offering free headwound dressing and gauze with every vote?

From your link:


On Thursday, January 27 2005, the Iraqi ministry of health released to the BBC's Panorama programme statistics stating that for the six-month period from 1 July 2004 to 1 January 2005:


3,274 people in Iraq were killed and 12, 657 injured in conflict-related violence
2,041 of these deaths were the result of military action, in which 8,542 people were injured
1,233 deaths were the result of "terrorist" incidents
These figures were based on records from Iraqi public hospitals.

The BBC initially reported these figures as meaning that the deaths and injuries resulting from military operations were the result of actions by the multinational force and Iraqi security forces.

On Saturday, the Iraqi ministry of health issued a statement clarifying matters that were the subject of several conversations with the BBC before the report was published, and denying that the conclusion could be drawn from the figures relating to military operations.

It stated that those recorded as killed in military action included Iraqis killed by terrorists, not only those killed by coalition forces or Iraqi security forces; and that those recorded as killed in military action included terrorists themselves, and Iraqi security forces.

The BBC regrets mistakes in its initial published and broadcast reports.