Well this is my first time starting a thread, figured now would be a good time since there is a whole lot of discussion about this Amvet character being a poser and I can't comment on it since I am not privy to the history that a whole lot of you seem to share. Anyways.....

Iraqis are going to the polls in just a few hours I was just wondering what some of your thoughts are about it.

Since this will be the first literally 'Open Election' in that countries' history...there will be one whale of media eyes focused on this outcome.
The nagging problems are the scores of insurgents throughout the country who are hell-bent in turning this into a massive bloodbath...as well as guaranteed documentation (media reports) of sabotage, intimidation, and other violence by those who do not want any ounce of success.
The next few days will be under the virtual microscope, to say the least.

Wonder what the lifespan of the newly elected president will be. The way things are going it will be a short lived job

It's about time this festering zit came to a head and popped! Then the process of healing and reconstruction can continue with one less cloud hanging over the effort.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Billy:
Wonder what the lifespan of the newly elected president will be. The way things are going it will be a short lived job

---

hopefully he will have more 'body doubles' than sodamn insane.

and i will go out on a limb and predict that the elections which are scheduled to be for one day will last longer out of necessity and to give everyone a chance to vote, or as many people as possible who are afraid to.

I have a feeling it isn't going to mean shit!! I really don't think anything will change after the election and that it is going to be a hell of an excuse for these terrorists to go all out. Hopefully though the killing spree will be us doing them then the other way around!!

It is howeverprogressand that is propably the most important thing to look for right now over there. Better than being at the stand still it seems is going on now, so that is a good.

Only real major impact I can see is if the newly elected gov. tells us to leave the country. I really doubt that will happen though.

While traveling across the back woods of Arizona last night, listening to xm radio, on one channell, I forget which one, a caller called in with an interesting question. The Iraqi ballots have a write in section on it for parties or choices, according to the caller. What if a majority write in and elect Saddam Hussein? In most free elections you are allowed to write in a candidate. That one got me thinking for the rest of the night.....not very plausible, but interesting none the less.

They have slates, not individuals.

Gee, if they want uncle Saddam that bad, let them have him.

Meanwhile we maintain a strategic presence in his country....indefinitely. I don't think anyone wants that.

I still think we would have been best served by putting something heavy on the trap door of his hidey hole and plugging the vent..

quote:

---

There have been no public debates or voter fact booklets to help citizens wade through the 111 slates offering candidates for a transitional national assembly, which will write the country's constitution. Iraqis still don't know where they will vote, what the ballots will look like or, because of assassination fears, the names of 7,400 candidates.

"How can we vote for people when we don't even know their names yet?" asked Heider Khalid, 21, a mathematics student at Baghdad University. "This is such a critical vote. We don't know nearly enough."

---

Looks like SNAFU just waiting to happen

This SNAFU is better than the total SNAFU of the Hussein era.

It ain't perfect, but it's a start. It didn't work overnight for us either, in fact....here in Washington State we have our own election *ahem* difficulties.

one can only imagine the "behind the scenes" politics going on to influence the voters on which party to vote for. Kinda like the old days where one was offered a 2 dollar bill and a jug of moonshine for his vote. Be that as it may I hope they get it done and over with in some sort of fair fashion.

Well, the main thing is they are going to vote. They'll probably have a bigger percentage than we do and that's sort of a bad reflection upon us.

There is an internet lottery going on how long it will be before the new guy gets shot.

How can there be a democratic election when everything is blowing up, people are being executed in broad daylight, entire groups of people are boycotting the vote, and political cantidates are forced to wear ski masks in an effort to hide their identity?

Almost none of the candidates have been identified, for security reason, but when the new assembly meets they'll be id'd. That's when the killing will really get going.