Four days to go to the referendum… and according to this story in Az-Zaman — as translated by IWPR– the Independent Electoral Commission has still not been able to open any voting stations in the western Anbar region, the site of military operations over the past two weeks.
The IEC head, Adil al-Lami, has apparently,
- urged Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim al-Jafari to stop military operations in the western sector of the country so that citizens can participate in Saturday’s constitutional referendum. Lami… said Jafari was cooperative on the matter. Lami announced that the commission has opened 94 voting stations in the Anbar region and Fallujah.
From the total huge number of polling stations that the IEC operated countrywide during the last election, 94 doesn’t actually sound like very many.
Let’s hope that transitional PM Jaafari and the US commanders actually do start a ceasefire immediately to enable some semblance of decent referendum to be held… Though even then, the conditions for a reasoned, well-informed public consultation on this matter still look, let’s say, decidedly sub-optimal.
My youngest son is on his 3rd tour in Baghdad…in the Green Zone. He & others say we are doing a lot of good there, & our news media needs to be “reined in.”
Helena — even your wonderful optimism has to give way in the face of the travesty we are observing in Iraq. The US government, in our name, is treating a sophisticated society and people as a collection of disposal action figures in an imperial war game.
“Adil al-Lami, has apparently,
urged Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim al-Jafari to stop military operations in the western sector of the country so that citizens can participate in Saturday’s constitutional referendum.”
For starters, he is talking to the wrong person. Jafari has nothing to do with starting or stopping military operations. In fact, he doesn’t have anything to do with much of anything that matters in Iraq. If Al Lami wants military operations stopped or started he needs to talk to the Americans, and if he does I wish him all kinds of good luck!
“He & others say we are doing a lot of good there, & our news media needs to be “reined in.”
Clearly “he and others” need to get their asses out of the green zone and find out what is really going on in Iraq.
Sorry to be so rude, but I have had my fill of this kind of demonstrable nonsense.
Shirin,
Where have you been, both in Iraq and outside the green zone, since the war started?
RE: “My youngest son is on his 3rd tour in Baghdad…in the Green Zone.”
Let me know the day when he checks his bodyarmor and rifle into the GreenZone base armory; goes on libery in Baghdad… eats lamb kebob, drinks a few imported beers, and buys you a postcard.
===================
Right.
How to “do a lot of good” in a conquered country:
(1) Build a gigantic heavily-fortified encampmant in the heart of the capital, and
(2) Stay inside it.
Jancurtis– I am really sorry your son is deployed in Iraq. You must be sick with worry about him. I hope he– and all the rest of them– can come home safe, sound, and soon.
I imagine that many of the soldiers believe they’re doing a lot of good. Many don’t. I imagine, too, that as his mom, you’d want to believe that he’s doing something worthwhile. But if the shoe were on the other foot– if very powerful Iraqi armed forces were holed up in a massive fort in the middle of Washington DC launching occasional forays out into the rest of the US there was mayhem, longterm collapse of basic services, massive insecurity, huge and unpredictable battles, suicide bombings killing scores at a time, families separated, etc etc– you might not think the presence of those forces was such a good idea…
Speaking of US troops in Iraq, This story concerning a plan of Al’Quaeda to build an Islamic state in Iraq after US departure just sounds like a Pentagon psy-op in order to fight any withdrawal request from the American public..
Of course there may be such projects among the insurgency and Zarquawi followers.. that they are realist is another things.. Many small extremists groups have such projects..
we are doing a lot of good there & our news media needs to be “reined in.”
I wonder if you could give us more details about the good things he& and his friends did there?
What we got from my family in Iraq there the following:
The streets in Al Mansore routinely US Tanks move on the streets between the residential areas!!! Why I don’t understating that? Not one Tank its more than two, imagine you setting in your home and you hear from time to time the crakes sound of the Tanks running on the street that build and designed for light to medium cars and trucks not Tanks!!! Imagine what these Tanks and Hammvis did to the street and the all roods in large…
2- My brother in law “my older sister’s Husband” when he left his home going shot dead two weeks ago, when my sister run outside her house after hearing the shooting she found her husband dead on the street and 6 bullets in his back….
3- My older brother he is a retried military pilot “back in 1990” 65 years old called me last week asking for help, as I heard from some sources there are a few bodies targeting the military pilots and the military commanders who worked in the Earth To Earth Missile systems….
So where is the good news that your son told you? Can you let me know may be I feel relieved if I hear rally there are few good things done for Iraqis…
Thanks
Christiane,
peaking of US troops in Iraq, This story concerning a plan of Al’Quaeda to build an Islamic state in Iraq after US departure just sounds like a Pentagon psy-op in order to fight any withdrawal request from the American public..
Christiane, this some stories regarded to build up the fear inside the westerners, and this common excuses GWB and the rest of other made to keep the fear up inside you and others.
I don’t have any believe whatsoever about any news coming from any US or UK sources in Iraq and my believe those the lied to all the world about the war of invasion of Iraqi should not be trusted any more with their lies just mounted to sky..
How can you amend the Constitution four days before the popular referendum on it? The UN elections observers should put on the breaks and demand a 2-week delay. The people have a right to see the amended text in those millions of copies they’re distributing.
It is all an incredible comedy. Juan Cole to-day wrote in his blog that Iraq was now governed by an oligarchy, a handfull of former exiled political leaders. Not even that is true : the Iraqis are manipulated by a colonial power. The American didn’t bring/teach democracy to Iraq, they taught them political manipulation.
>Lack of informatio
“The problem is, we have no idea what the constitution is about,” said Ali Hussain, who lives on a route patrolled regularly by the 1st Brigade Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Forward Operating Base Speicher.
Helen, not just the Anbar provinces having problem those people from north” the tows and cities north Tikrit, toward Musel” so if they don’t know what’s all about how they voting or may be they never participated of the day of voting simply they don’t know….