Sunday, February 06, 2005
The Election
I am very proud of the Iraqi people - turning out to vote is such large numbers. For one to risk their life to vote - you have to respect that. An officer told us at a briefing that the elections would be a success pretty much no matter happened because even if, God forbid, a few dozen polling stations were hit, there would be thousands which would remain unscathed. This sounded good until I reminded myself of what the insurgent’s threat of bombings were: terrorism - actions which have little military value, but serve to intimidate people. The fear of bombings at polling stations, not the physical and logistical results of the bombings is what would hurt the election. The average Iraqi might think, “So what if – at most – five percent of polling stations would be blown up? Mine might be in that five percent.” Perhaps the officer knew the determination of the Iraqi people better than the rest of us, but I think all were impressed at the turn out.
I was also impressed with the security at the polls. When we started working with the Iraqi Police (IP) at our checkpoint in Falluja, they used a hand held metal detectors also known as a wands. Maybe “wand” translated too well, for back then when the detector beeped they casually continued to sweep a person as if the instrument had the magical power to remove the potential threat as is was found.
Turns out, not a single insurgent got into a polling station. Excellent work! I really thought that the insurgents were saving up for a big, bloody show on election day, but, Senator’s Kerry’s comments notwithstanding, the Iraqi people eclipsed what little violence their was. I think this is a great milestone in Iraq’s history and I think that things here will continue to improve. My only concern now is the genocidal Ottomans. The US should flush them down the toilet and show more support for the Kurds.
I am very proud of the Iraqi people - turning out to vote is such large numbers. For one to risk their life to vote - you have to respect that. An officer told us at a briefing that the elections would be a success pretty much no matter happened because even if, God forbid, a few dozen polling stations were hit, there would be thousands which would remain unscathed. This sounded good until I reminded myself of what the insurgent’s threat of bombings were: terrorism - actions which have little military value, but serve to intimidate people. The fear of bombings at polling stations, not the physical and logistical results of the bombings is what would hurt the election. The average Iraqi might think, “So what if – at most – five percent of polling stations would be blown up? Mine might be in that five percent.” Perhaps the officer knew the determination of the Iraqi people better than the rest of us, but I think all were impressed at the turn out.
I was also impressed with the security at the polls. When we started working with the Iraqi Police (IP) at our checkpoint in Falluja, they used a hand held metal detectors also known as a wands. Maybe “wand” translated too well, for back then when the detector beeped they casually continued to sweep a person as if the instrument had the magical power to remove the potential threat as is was found.
Turns out, not a single insurgent got into a polling station. Excellent work! I really thought that the insurgents were saving up for a big, bloody show on election day, but, Senator’s Kerry’s comments notwithstanding, the Iraqi people eclipsed what little violence their was. I think this is a great milestone in Iraq’s history and I think that things here will continue to improve. My only concern now is the genocidal Ottomans. The US should flush them down the toilet and show more support for the Kurds.
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