Elections - Now and Then

CNN International's front-page headline: "Ballots counted in Iraqi election"

Think about how mundane that sounds on one level - and the amazing story it tells for just that reason.

Here's the story:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Vote-counting at polling stations across Iraq is beginning Thursday night, after Iraqis turned out in droves to elect their first full-term parliament since the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

Turnout was so heavy across the country that the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq gave provincial governments the discretion to keep polls open an hour past its 5 p.m. closing time. It was not clear where polling stations exercised this leeway.

Polling stations would close after the last person to arrive in line by 6 p.m. votes, IECI spokesman Farid Ayar said.

Also streaming to the polls were Sunni Arabs, who had stayed away from the polls in previous elections only to find they barely had a voice in government.

The high turnout was remarkable, considering curfews, bulked-up security, border closings, road closures and traffic bans across the country. In some cases, voters had to take long walks to get to polls. Many were seen happily thrusting their purple ink-stained fingers at photographers -- the colored fingers a symbol of Iraq's free elections.

A salute to the people of Iraq - I can only imagine how you feel.

A salute to my brothers and sisters in uniform in Iraq today - I know just how you feel. I was there in January.

And this seems like a good time to look back at the first of the three elections that have been held there this year. I think the following excerpts from accounts we compiled back then capture the moment fairly well, and it's nice to be able to look back from the perspective of the months gone by, and measure...

progress.

The day before:

The New York Times:

Shiite Faction Ready to Shun Sunday's Election in Iraq

A radical cleric's refusal to endorse the election foreshadowed a less than overwhelming voter turnout in Iraq.

Less than 48 hours before nationwide elections here, Nasir al-Saedy, one of the city's most popular Shiite clerics, stood before a crowd of 20,000 Iraqis and uttered not a single word about the vote.

Sheik Saedy spoke of faith, humility and the power of God. But about Sunday's elections, the first here in more than 30 years, nothing.

For the throngs of Iraqis who had come to Al Mohsen Mosque to listen, the sheik's silence came through loud and clear.

And it foreshadowed a less than overwhelming voter turnout in many parts of Iraq.

Insurgents warn Iraqis not to vote

BAGHDAD (AP) — Insurgents killed five American soldiers in separate attacks Friday in Baghdad and blasted more polling stations across the country, sending a message that if Iraqis suffer deaths and injuries on election day, "you have only yourselves to blame."
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Despite Saleh's assurances, al-Zarqawi's group posted a new Web message Friday warning Iraqis that they could get hit by shelling or other attacks if they approach polling stations, which it called "the centers of atheism and of vice."

"We have warned you, so don't blame us. You have only yourselves to blame," it said.

Sunni Arab extremists have vowed to disrupt Sunday's national elections, in which Iraqis will choose a 275-member National Assembly and provincial councils in the country's 18 provinces. Iraqis in the Kurdish-ruled north will chose a new regional parliament.

Officials fear a low turnout in Sunday's vote — particularly among Sunni Arabs — could tarnish the legitimacy of the new government.
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Those measures, however, have not been enough to stop the violence. A suicide car bomber exploded his vehicle Friday in Baghdad's Doura neighborhood, killing four Iraqi policemen. Hours later, another car bomb exploded on the neighborhood's main road, damaging a school where voters are to cast ballots Sunday. No one was hurt.

Elsewhere, insurgents hit designated polling centers in at least six major cities across the country. Gunmen attacked a school to be used as a polling station in Kirkuk, killing one policeman, officials said.

Bombs blasted three more schools designated as polling sites in the city of Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad. A mortar shell landed on a house close to a school believed to be used as polling site in Ramadi, wounding two women and two children, a hospital doctor said.

Without a doubt the story from Iraq is a compelling one. And a fundamental example of good vs evil. Those who'd offer excuses or moral equivalency lectures in response to insurgents beheading Iraqis or disemboweling aid workers, mortaring homes or striking at schools with car bombs have clearly chosen sides. Don't blame us if we kill you, you have only yourselves to blame, cries an "insurgent" - and around the world certain heads nod.

Still others might recall this quote from a recent movie:

"A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day. This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you *stand, Men of the West!"

Aragorn, of course, from The Return of the King. There have been numerous superficial comparisons made between current events and the Lord of the Rings, and the appearance of the movie at this point in history was certainly fortuitous. Successful films reflect the times, and though no one knew at the time these films were being made exactly what the world situation would be upon their release they've meshed amazingly well. Gandalf's response to Frodo's lament that "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened." seemed extraordinarily fit for 2001: "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work, Frodo, than the will of evil.

Or the next year, as the US prepared to go into Iraq, Grima dismissed Gandalf as a warmonger in the court of Theoden. Later, Theoden: I will not risk open war. Aragorn: Open war is upon you whether you would risk it or not. Later still: Aragorn: You have some skill with a blade. Eowyn: The women of this country learned long ago, those without swords can still die upon them.

In spite of the chillingly accurate applicability, it's not the superficial and obvious comparisons that make the real connection to modern events; it's the underlying theme of the books that rings true. For Tolkien's story was much larger, much grander than the trilogy, after all. That tale was of but one battle in an ongoing war, and references to the larger theme gave the books a depth that most imitators lack. Tolkein had fleshed out that larger history before he began his sequel to The Hobbit, it was in fact his true life's work. And that grand story was of the eternal struggle between good and evil, and that's why the books sell today and why the movies have an appeal to a worldwide audience unmatched by anything else. Tolkein tapped into something fundamental that dwells within us all, the conflict of the positive and the negative, of darkness and light, good and evil that struggles in each soul, as it does in the world at large. And that is why the words of the characters have a resonance with us today.

I harbor no illusions about what we're doing, and I certainly don't imagine myself as a warrior at the gates of Mordor. But tomorrow is yet another skirmish in the real world war, the one I've personally been involved in for 20 years now. I'll predict a victory for the good guys.

After all, there are other forces at work, Frodo, than what you read in the papers.

Lefty blog The Daily Kos:

This war is long past lost. Time to pack it in, and save the lives of our men and women in uniform that will otherwise face a barrage of bullets and RPG rounds during their extended stay in the desert.
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But at the end of the day, whether they'll ever admit it or not -- we were right, they were wrong. Reality isn't being too kind to their side.

From the evening before the elections:

Fallujah - where residents were just beginning to return after the November battle that rid the city of insurgents:

Some said they would vote as a protest against the insurgents who used to rule Fallujah, whom many blame for the destruction.

Especially reviled is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian who leads an al-Qaeda-affiliated network in Iraq. In a new Internet posting yesterday, his group called polling sites "centers of atheism and vice" and warned that "you only have yourselves to blame" for harm on election day.

Muneer Salman, 39, a factory worker whose home burned down in the November battle, walked the streets yesterday in search of precious gasoline. As he walked, he cursed Zarqawi and said voting was a way to get even with the man who has a $25 million price on his head from the United States.

"Zarqawi isn't worth what I paid for my shoes," Salman said angrily. "Is it legal to kill people for participating in an election? What happened to our families and our homes isn't enough for him? I swear by God if a voting center is close to my house, I'll go."

Lieutenant-Colonel Mowatassam Hachem al-Jebouri is determined to vote despite living in a guerrilla-infested district of Baghdad. He has devised a plan to do so.

The former Iraqi Air Force fighter pilot has identified ten like-minded families from his neighbourhood. The men of those households will set off for their local polling station early in the morning, hoping that the terrorists will be deterred by their numbers.

If they return unscathed, if they deem the streets and polling station safe, they will send their wives in the afternoon.

Colonel al-Jebouri, 41, the father of two young girls, refuses to be cowed by the insurgents and their threats to kill those who vote. Having suffered 18 months of fear and bloodshed, he insists on his right to participate in Iraq's first free election in half a century. "This is a milestone which will lay the foundations for building a new future in Iraq," he told The Times.

The future of Iraq, and of the wider Middle East, depends on millions of Iraqis, particularly Sunnis such as Colonel al-Jebouri, showing similiar courage.
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He drew inspiration for his plan from a television advertisement produced by the Iraqi Government that shows an elderly man confronted by a group of masked and menacing youths in an alley.

The old man refused to retreat and is slowly joined by more and more fellow citizens until, as a group, they move forward and the thugs disperse.

The message is simple: together ordinary Iraqis are stronger than the extremists.

"We held a meeting. We decided to go all together, taking the idea from the advert," the colonel said.
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The mere act of casting their ballots could cost this group their lives, but Colonel al-Jebouri says that fear is not an election issue. "Voting is just another risk in Iraq," he said. "But this one is worth is taking."

In the otherwise disappointing story of the Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi army's commando unit has been an exception, fighting ably beside American troops in Fallouja.

And now the unit - comprising mostly Shiite Muslims and smaller numbers of Sunni Arabs and Kurds - is taking on the dangerous task of providing security Sunday at polling places in this rebellious city.

Several hundred commandos were given the assignment after all of Ramadi's 1,000 policemen abandoned their posts because of threats against them and their families by insurgents who have carried out kidnappings and beheadings.
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"I believe in two things: God and protecting my homeland," said commando Lt. Ali Stare Tama, 24, of Basra.

The commandos, who earn about $300 a month - a living wage in Iraq - insist that religious or ethnic differences are irrelevant.

"We fight together, like the Americans," Tama said.
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Asked what they planned to do with insurgents who try to disrupt the election, several commandos responded by twisting their foot as if stomping out a cigarette, while others cheered.

"The destroyers are no better than thieves," said commando Hussien Naser Abaied, 26, referring to the insurgents. "We will fight them."

During the battle to oust insurgents from Fallouja, the commandos were among the 2,000 Iraqi troops who fought beside 10,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers. In the early hours of the offensive, Iraqi units successfully fought insurgents for control of two bridges over the Euphrates River and a strategic city hospital.
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"We want people to be able to choose their own leader, for Iraq," said commando Sgt. Major Khald Hameed Khalf, 38, of Baghdad.

The New York Times:

Nearly 22 months after American troops captured Baghdad, lighting a fire of enthusiasm for the freedoms Iraqis had craved so long, it is a measure of how much has gone wrong that Iraqis committed to Western-style democratic ideals can differ so sharply over the best way to secure them. Much of the problem is that the elections are being held under the dominion of the United States.

Many Iraqis, interviews in recent months have shown, do not accept that fundamental choices about the shape of their future political system should be made by a foreign power, particularly one they regard as a harbinger of secular, materialistic values far removed from the Muslim world's.

But questions over the election go far beyond the American stewardship, to issues that touch on whether it was ever wise or realistic to think that Jeffersonian-style democracy, with its elaborate checks on power and guarantees for minority rights, could be implanted, at least so rapidly, in a country and a region that has little experience with anything but winner-take-all politics.

Ali - Free Iraqi:

This was my way to stand against those who humiliated me, my family and my friends. It was my way of saying," You're history and you don't scare me anymore". It was my way to scream in the face of all tyrants, not just Saddam and his Ba'athists and tell them, "I don't want to be your, or anyone's slave. You have kept me in your jail all my life but you never owned my soul". It was my way of finally facing my fears and finding my courage and my humanity again.
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A'ash Al Iraq, A'ashat America, A'ash Al Tahaluf. (Long live Iraq, long live America and long live the coalition)

I still recall the first group of comments that came to this blog 14 months ago when many of the readers asked "The Model?"? "Model for what?"

Take a look today to meet the model of courage and human desire to achieve freedom; people walking across the fire to cast their votes.
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I walked forward to my station, cast my vote and then headed to the box, where I wanted to stand as long as I could, then I moved to mark my finger with ink, I dipped it deep as if I was poking the eyes of all the world's tyrants.

Today only we may announce the victory! Today we hit back in the heart of the terrorists and the tyrants! Today is the day in which the souls of our martyrs comforted! Today those who were killed in Iraq or wounded among our friends from the USA and other allies, who helped us to reach this day, are with us again to inscribe their names with Gold for ever!

Today we challenged the killers and terrorists and foot on them with our shoes!
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On the top of our privileged today are those who were killed in their way for voting. Their names should be perpetuated for ever! Their names should be written in Gold in Al-Fordos Square in Baghdad!

Our thanks go to George W Bush who will enter the history as the leader of the freedom and democracy in the recent history! He and his people are our friends for ever!

At this moment the voting closed and we will see the results then!

God bless Iraq and America.

I bow in respect and awe to the men and women of our people who, armed only with faith and hope are going to the polls under the very real threats of being blown to pieces. These are the real braves; not the miserable creatures of hate who are attacking one of the noblest things that has ever happened to us. Have you ever seen anything like this? Iraq will be O.K. with so many brave people, it will certainly O.K.; I can say no more just now; I am just filled with pride and moved beyond words. People are turning up not only under the present threat to polling stations but also under future threats to themselves and their families; yet they are coming, and keep coming. Behold the Iraqi people; now you know their true metal. We shall never forget the meanness of these bas****s. After this is over there will be no let up, they must be wiped out. It is our duty and the duty of every decent human to make sure this vermin is no more and that no more innocent decent people are victimized.

My condolences to the Great American people for the tragic recent losses of soldiers. The blood of Iraqis and Americans is being shed on the soil of Mesopotamia; a baptism with blood. A baptism of a lasting friendship and alliance, for many years to come, through thick and thin, we shall never forget the brave soldiers fallen while defending our freedom and future.

This is a very hurried message, while we are witnessing something quite extraordinary. I myself have voted and so did members of my family. Thank God for giving us the chance.

The day after - me:

Greetings from a land of bent and broken things.

Some of you may have noticed I didn't post my own thoughts on yesterday's elections. My reason is simple: it wasn't my day. I watched through tearing eyes. Yes, this old trooper shed a few tears of joy at what had happened. Like the amazing fall of the Berlin wall, the peaceful "revolutions" that freed Eastern Europe, this was another great victory in my lifetime, and one I felt a little bit involved in. This wasn't George Bush's victory, this wasn't America's victory, this certainly wasn't my victory, this was a victory for the people of Iraq and those who love freedom everywhere. I was an observer, a very close observer, but an observer nonetheless.

I liked what I saw.

Now note the header above. The work has just begun. I see bent and broken, scarred and ruined things here every day. Many were damaged years ago. 1991? 2003? In between? After? It's often hard to tell. Many will be fixed in time, others are beyond repair. Now substitute the word "people" for "things" in the preceding and read it again. Meet a group of Iraqi people and one will tell you how grateful he is that we have given him freedom. He will tell you he lived in fear for his life every day under Saddam. His joy is real, and fundamental, and obvious. Then the next will tell you he lost his entire family in the invasion. He's glad Saddam's gone, but he's paid a price that few would be willing to pay were they given the option.

What would you say to him? "Sorry about that. But cheer up, old boy! Other than that you must admit this freedom thing is pretty great, eh?" No - there's nothing that can be said. He may or may not hate the United States, he may blame Saddam for what happened, but here is a man with the rest of his life before him, and he'll live each day without his family.

The greater good, of course, is served. Many Americans died in this endeavor too; such things temper the celebration. I think Iraqi blogger Alaa offers the right perspective:

My condolences to the Great American people for the tragic recent losses of soldiers. The blood of Iraqis and Americans is being shed on the soil of Mesopotamia; a baptism with blood. A baptism of a lasting friendship and alliance, for many years to come, through thick and thin, we shall never forget the brave soldiers fallen while defending our freedom and future.

I'd add our Coalition allies to that sentiment too.

So amidst the triumph, I saw yesterday as a Memorial Day, of a sort, for those many who fell to make it possible. Some might try and use those deaths for their own ends, or to justify their belief that we should never have walked this path. Such people don't believe in heroes. They can't even comprehend this simple fact; no one is more opposed to war than the soldier. He knows the cost and has seen the carnage. But as I wrote at the top of the sidebar long ago: The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior, who prefers to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day he stands fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.

Today we re-build broken things. Grab a hammer or get out of the way.

Senator Kerry: "No one in the United States should try to overhype this election.... It's hard to say that something is legitimate when a whole portion of the country can't and doesn't vote."

Senator Kennedy: "While the elections are a step forward, they are not a cure for the growing violence and resentment of the perception of American occupation. ... The best way to demonstrate to the Iraqi people that we have no long-term designs on their country is for the Administration to withdraw some troops now..."

Senate Minority Leader Reid: "We need an exit strategy so that we know what victory is and how we can get there. ... Iraq is clearly important, but there are so many bigger threats to our national security..."

But America just wouldn't listen, and thus we're left with this today:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Vote-counting at polling stations across Iraq is beginning Thursday night, after Iraqis turned out in droves to elect their first full-term parliament since the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

Turnout was so heavy across the country that the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq gave provincial governments the discretion to keep polls open an hour past its 5 p.m. closing time. It was not clear where polling stations exercised this leeway.

Polling stations would close after the last person to arrive in line by 6 p.m. votes, IECI spokesman Farid Ayar said.

Also streaming to the polls were Sunni Arabs, who had stayed away from the polls in previous elections only to find they barely had a voice in government.

The high turnout was remarkable, considering curfews, bulked-up security, border closings, road closures and traffic bans across the country. In some cases, voters had to take long walks to get to polls. Many were seen happily thrusting their purple ink-stained fingers at photographers -- the colored fingers a symbol of Iraq's free elections.

Got a hammer?