The BBC predictably couldn’t help itself from casting the Iraqi vote in a negative light (“Iraq votes as attacks hit Baghdad”), but let’s face it: 22 dead in suicide bombing attacks, all of which were killed in Baghdad, is a pretty cheery picture compared to what many expected.
From Reuters:
In Baquba, a rebellious city northeast of Baghdad, crowds clapped and cheered at one voting station. In Mosul, scene of some of the worst insurgent attacks in recent months, U.S. and local officials said turnout was surprisingly high…One of the biggest surprises was Mosul, a mixed Sunni Arab and Kurd city in the far north. “So far it’s gone very well, much better than expected,” said a U.S. army officer.
According to Bin Ladin, about 58% of Iraq’s population is now infidel.
UPDATE: Make that anywhere from 52%-72% infidel.
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COMMENTS / 4 COMMENTS
Adamu added these pithy words on 30 Jan 05 at 10:33 pmJust a personal reflection: I was totally shocked to find that Iraqis are taking “joy” in this election and turning out in such numbers. It’s not that I was supporting the insurgents or whatever, it just really seemed to me that the US was forcing this on Iraq. But if the election process in Iraq is successful in giving the people a say in how their country is run then I’m glad it happened, even if the process leading up to it (the invasion etc) still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Curzon added these pithy words on 30 Jan 05 at 11:15 pmLet me guess—you count on the NY Times, the BBC, or some other such similarly pro-victim (and functionally if not intentionally liberal) news source.
Remember:
Younghusband added these pithy words on 31 Jan 05 at 5:26 amNathan over at the Argus has some great pics.
Younghusband added these pithy words on 01 Feb 05 at 1:18 amhttp://slate.msn.com/id/2112894/
If there was one message from the Iraqi election on Sunday, it was that newspapers are often vast repositories of conventional wisdom just begging for demolition. What had been broadly pegged by the media in recent months as a likely “illegitimate” election that might lead to an Iraqi civil war appeared to be nothing of the sort (even though 36 people died and nearly 100 others were injured in insurgent attacks). On Monday, the international press was scrambling to make up for having been so wide of the mark.
