Iraqi Election
Iraq the Model: "The people have won. We would love to share what we did this morning with the whole world, we can't describe the feelings we've been through but we'll try to share as much as we can with you."
Juan Cole: "Explosions rocked West, South and East Baghdad, as well as many cities throughout the Sunni heartland--Baqubah, Mosul, Balad, and in Salahuddin Province (7 attacks by noon). There was also an attack in the Turkmen north at Talafar, and in the Shiite deep south at Basra. In Basra, Coalition troops raided the al-Hamra Mosque. Four were killed and seven wounded in an attack in Sadr City. These kinds of statistics were common in the election-poll attacks. Turnout seems extremely light in the Sunni Arab areas, where some polling stations did not even open. It was heavier in the Shiite south and in the Kurdish north."
Back to Iraq: "Almost one hour since the polls opened here, I've only heard one faint boom, and it was far away. So far, so good, knock on wood. I'll be heading out shortly after we've had our security guys make an assessment of the safety situation. But one thing is different. Before, as a Westerner, I felt a bull's-eye on me whenever I left compound. Today, I think the kidnapping threat is less (the insurgents have better things to do today) so everyone on the street is a target. This gives me a feeling of solidarity and responsibility. If the Iraqis can go out there and risk their lives in the lines to vote, then the least I can do is the same to cover them doing it." Thanks to TalkLeft for the link.
Here's some early coverage of the election in Iraq from the AP via the Rocky Mountain News [January 30, 2005, "Iraqis cast their votes, despite violence"]. From the article, "Iraqis danced and clapped with joy Sunday as they voted in their country's first free election in a half-century, defying insurgents who launched eight suicide bombings and mortar strikes at polling stations. The attacks killed at least 36 people. An Iraqi election official said that 72 percent of eligible Iraqi voters had turned out so far nationwide. The official, Adel al-Lami of the Independent Electoral Commission, offered no overall figures of the actual number of Iraqis who have voted to back up the claim. After a slow start, men and women in flowing black abayas - often holding babies - formed long lines, although there were pockets of Iraq where the streets and polling stations were deserted. Iraqis prohibited from using private cars walked streets crowded in a few places nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with voters, hitched rides on military buses and trucks, and some even carried the elderly in their arms."
More early coverage of the election from the NY Times via the Denver Post [January 30, 2005, "Voters go to polls in Iraq"]. From the article, "Polling places began opening in the capital at 7 a.m., but the streets were nearly empty because of an extreme security cordon by Iraqi and U.S. forces. Vehicles were turned away from checkpoints, and only foot traffic was allowed in parts of the city. Several explosions could be heard from the streets. An hour after polls opened, a thin stream of voters began arriving at two schools in the Karada district of central Baghdad. At one school, Arabiya, plastic ballot boxes already had scores of large, folded ballots stacked inside."
Update: Juan Cole: "At a little after noon EST, Jane Arraf on CNN is reporting about 30 percent turnout in Baqubah, a mixed Sunni-Shiite city to the northeast of Baghdad. It seems clear that the turnout was largely Shiite."
"Although the violence and attacks have been extensive and took place all over the country, the security measures put in prevented massive loss of life. Suicide bombers clearly could not get close enough to crowds to take a big toll."
Update: Friends of Democracy: "Bhutan Bwani files an upbeat audio report from Duhok city and says everything went smoothly. 'No explosions,' he says dryly. Click here to listen in English."
Update: Mt. Virtus: "Though I've been fighting illness lately and though I barely have time right now, I felt impelled to post this - the inspiring story of Iraqis turning out to vote in a historic election, showing bravery during threats of serious violence."
Update: TalkLeft: "The right-wing blogosphere, like President Bush, considers the elections a triumph for democracy. The top liberal bloggers, Daily Kos, Atrios, Josh Marshall, knowing better, are either ignoring the elections or have moved on. Other liberal bloggers express their criticism: Oliver Willis, Talking Dog; Maxspeak; Jerome Armstrong of MyDD; Armando at Daily Kos; Juan Cole."
Update: Bull Moose: "...now is time for all people of good will to praise the bravery of millions of Iraqis who defied fascist threats and attacks to vote. The photos of Iraqis with ink stained fingers that designated that they had voted captured the heroic victory of the Iraqis over the jihadists and the Baathists. The ink stained fingers will undoubtedly come to symbolize the struggle of democratic aspirations against extremist terror."
6:48:53 AM 
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) writes, "Following the election of 2004, much has been made of the weaknesses of the Democratic Party, even its possible end. But it has escaped the notice of our blow-dry television pundits and political observers alike that the Republican Party, in the full blush of triumph in control of all the branches of government and large sections of the media, stands on the edge of certain extinction. The reasons grow daily more evident. Over the past three decades, the moderate, business-oriented party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower was captured by its extreme right-wing thereby becoming a party dominated by ideologues, increasingly divorced from unmovable facts. But no organization, political party, or nation can long survive by ignoring realities of ecology, social justice, law, economics, and true security. Sooner or later, it will step off the proverbial curb into onrushing traffic of events, forces, and trends that it refused to see."
