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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! February 1, 2009 The Purple ReturnsBy GreyhawkAn observation from a milblogger (and military journalist) in Iraq: "Once again, the Iraqis are waving purple fingers demonstrating their role in democracy." I wanted to cover the elections so bad today, but military presence is limited. I haven’t even heard of anyone providing security for the elections, and that’s huge. From what I’ve heard, the military was there for support if needed, but in the background as a last resort. I would have loved to be out in the streets of Baghdad today, even if I had to wear civilian clothes and blend in with Associated Press reporters.Read the whole thing. And while she could only offer her first hand perspective from 'inside the wire', Reuters apparently had someone on scene, whose efforts are now available under this typically cheerful headline: Iraqi election turnout not as high as hoped Officials said on Sunday 7.5 million or 51 percent of the more than 14 million registered voters had braved car bans, body searches, barbed wire barricades and checkpoints to take part.According to Reuters, turnout ranged from a high (60 percent and 57 percent) in Nineveh and Diyala provinces to a low in Baghdad, where "turnout on Saturday appeared to have been just under 40 percent, the independent electoral commission said." And while they did open by explaining the low turnout was due to "voter registration problems and tight security" they did ultimately offer this 'praise' of the numbers: The turnout levels may be respectable for a provincial poll in a country only just beginning to adopt competitive democracy and where scepticism about politicians runs high, analysts say. This was not an election for nation-wide office - so some helpful perspective can be gained by comparing these results to those from a non-Presidential election from a more established democracy. No doubt Reuters would have done so but ran up against a deadline or filled their available server hard drives and weren't able to provide a good point of comparison. I had five minutes to spare this weekend, so utilizing the web site "google" (www.google.com) I was able to locate results from non-Presidential elections in a more established Democracy. I couldn't determine if one was available where "scepticism about politicians" is not high, but I did discover that information on voter turnout in U.S. elections has been added to the world wide web, and that the United States has over two centuries of experience in "competitive democracy". Results can be seen here and here - and below. 2006 37% Perhaps in 2010 the United States could achieve something close to Iraq's 51% turnout. Maybe if we add "car bans, body searches, barbed wire barricades and checkpoints" to our polling stations, too? Recent/Related: The Dawn Patrol 1/30/09 (More from milbloggers in Iraq) Iraq: provincial elections and the sweet smell of success Posted by Greyhawk / February 1, 2009 2:59 PM | Permalink 1 TrackBackWelcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and other sources around the world. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a li... Read More 1 Comment |
March 19, 2010Dawn Patrol 03/19/2003 [Greyhawk]
"Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world." Mudville was founded in March, 2003. Our efforts to bring the thoughts, words, and deeds of milbloggers to a wider world evolved to become The Dawn Patrol in March, 2005. With today's entry we're going to reset the clock - but not re-write the history - and recreate the world as it was - on a day the world changed...
Updating... more to follow.... MILBOGSAndrew Olmsted, 19 Mar 2003, Stateside: It would appear that the liberation of Iraq has begun. Greyhawk, 18 Mar 2003, Germany: A united world could have, just maybe, brought down Saddam without firing a shot. We will never know. 19 Mar: We'll never know what a united world could have achieved... the UN could not agree on anything, the situation degenerated, and here we are. Status quo was not working. The French were too desperate for oil and trade at any cost. Well-intentioned Americans were led into the streets by Communists (and others) with an agenda. The media distorted the split. Many in America and abroad thought they could manipulate the situation to their personal gain. They miscalculated. The fire is lit. Pontifx ex Machina, 18 Mar, undisclosed location: Rolling out the gate, the guard gets a quick "hook-em, horns" sign as we weave through the barricades. Then we're off, cruising through the desert in a battered-up SUV. On the eve of war, only one thing passes through our minds: is there going to be any appropriate music on the radio? Lt Smash, 19 Mar, undisclosed location: Read the President's speech today. The clock is ticking. Chief Wiggles, 22 Mar, Kuwait: The war started Wednesday morning for us right after the president gave a speech to the American people that lasted about 4 minutes. We were all very anxious for this whole thing to be either over or get it on its way. Will, 22 Mar, en route: I am going to Baghdad to personally shoot that paper hanging son of a bitch! Lt Smash 20 Mar, undisclosed location: Sgt Stryker, 20 Mar, Stateside: Iraq to File U.N. Complaint About Attack Primary Main Objective, 30 Mar, undisclosed location I Dare Kofi to Come Get Me.
BruceR, Flit, 19 Mar, Canada: AND SO IT BEGINS. Godspeed, Yanks. Come home safe and soon. Andrew Olmsted, 20 Mar 2003, Stateside: The most important thing to remember over the next few days is this: the first reports are almost always inaccurate. First reports are generally submitted in the heat of battle before any real analysis can take place. Therefore, they're highly subjective, based on limited information, and rarely hit the mark. So as the first reports of 'surgical strikes' on Iraqi forces come in, it's best to take those reports with a grain of salt... Iraqi BlogsSalam Pax, Baghdad: The bombing aould come and go in waves, nothing too heavy and not yet comparable to what was going on in 91. all radio and TV stations are still on and while the air raid began the Iraqi TV was showing patriotic songs and didn't even bother to inform viewers that we are under attack. at the moment they are re-airing yesterday's interview with the minister of interior affairs. THe sounds of the anti-aircarft artillery is still louder than the booms and bangs which means that they are still far from where we live, but the images we saw on Al Arabia news channel showed a building burning near one of my aunts house... American BlogsGlenn Reynolds has a ton of links. Newpapers
Updating... more to follow.... |
The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
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Maybe if we add "car bans, body searches, barbed wire barricades and checkpoints" to our polling stations, too?
Methinks we also should add those facilities to our various Boards of Elections ... and subject the candidates to them before we put their names on the ballots.
Along with IRS audits.