You know, I really wish Iraq were having an honest, safe, real election. But that isn’t happening, and that’s a shame.
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Kevin
Kevin founded Wizbang in 2003. He still contributes occasionally and handles all the technical and design work for the site.
and um…
last I looked, asking for a delay in an election isn’t the same as “being against a popular, national election.”
Reading comp problems?
“care to point out the country of N. Iraq backed up by Red Chinese?”
Now, don’t take the analogy too far Darleen; you;re right of course, Iraq looks more Lebanon or Afghanistan in the eighties, but some lessons are best not forgotten.
“sking for a delay in an election isn’t the same as “being against a popular, national election.”
I see the reading comprehension problems are all yours; go back and read the whole articel. Bush opposed exactly the kind of vote we just saw; he and his administration wanted a complicated system of caucuses which would be easier to manipulate. He also insisted that the UN ration cards couldn’t be used to verify voters’ identities. He caved to Sistani on both points in exchange for delaying the vote until after the American election.
Can you say “flipflop”?
That elections were held at all is a wonderful thing, but its premature to be celebrating democracy in Iraq when the country is still under martial law. Remember “Mission Accomplished”?
Further to the “point out the country of N. Iraq backed up by Red Chinese?” remark; the various Iraqi insurgents, rebels, terrorists etc don’t need any foreign backers (thought they certainly are getting help from outside, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Syria depending on which group you’re talking about). They have all the arms they need thanks to Rumsfeld’s failure to secure Iraqi Army ammo dumps in the immediate aftermath of the invasion.
Now go ahead, call me an anti American leftist…didn’t bother me in the eighties when I was protesting American support for Saddam, doesn’t bother me bow…
Salut A Hermit,
pardon my ignorance of your Quebecois dialect, but I don’t follow your reasoning. Weren’t these voter registration cards that Bush was opposing part of the legacy program of UN – oil for food ration cards? Also, the UN agreed to this stance. So, you would have been for using these cards that were assigned when Saddam was still in power for voter registration for the new Iraq?
Also, there was a lot of criticism of the Bush Administration that elections should be held immediately in Iraq, which as stated by Bremer and the rest of the Administration that the country 1) wasn’t stable enough
2) all of the regions weren’t prepared for polling.
Besides, if they had held elections then, you and all of the rest of the lefties (that you are currently regurgitating the thoughts of) would have complained that the elections were fixed and a puppet regime would have been the result.
I’m also unclear as to why you would have been opposing the backing of Saddam by the US government when you are Canadian and get your news from South Africa? Enlighten us.
This election, at least at the outset appears to have been fair according to the sanctioning bodies that are present, but I’m sure it won’t take you long to spit up other conspiracy ideas as soon as they hit your inbox.
Ummm Drew, look again. The ration cards were used on Sunday to verify voter ID…
And you want to talk about corruption, where’s the 9 Billion in unaccounted for reconstruction funds? Those are your tax dollars Bremer lost track of.
If your objection to an earlier vote (and that was a right wing objection, not a leftist one…) is that:
1) wasn’t stable enough
2) all of the regions weren’t prepared for polling.
how can you now support a vote when the country is less stable (insurgent attacks were practically non-existent in spring/summer 2003) and large regions of the country aren’t prepared for polling…you think Fallujah was prepared for polling!? How about this place: http://tinyurl.com/5286x
“According to a series of reports from inside Iraq, the KDP effectively blocked the delivery of ballot boxes to six major Assyrian towns and villages in the Plains around Mosul including Baghdeda, Bartilla, Karemlesh, Shekhan, Ain Sifne and Bahzan…According to Iraq sources, the ballot boxes had been stored in Arbil, the stronghold of the KDP. The resulting unavailability of ballot boxes affected up to 100,000 Assyrian voters and tens of thousands of Yezidis, Shabak, and Turkman voters. The outright denial of voting rights to Assyrians and other non-Kurdish minorities culminates several months of intimidation, beatings, beheadings, burnings, and mutilations of Assyrian Christians in the Nineveh Plain.”
And the Kurds are the good guys!
“I’m also unclear as to why you would have been opposing the backing of Saddam by the US government when you are Canadian and get your news from South Africa? Enlighten us.”
Well, I get my news from a lot of different places; I like to check at least three sources before coming to any conclusions about a story. I realize parroting Fox talking points would be easier, but hey, I have this thing about truth…
As for opposing American support for Saddam when he was actually invading his neighbours, using poison gas and massacreing the Kurds, well, I also have this thing about genocide, torture and state sponsored brutality in general. I oppose it all the time, not just when it’s popular to do so.
I remember Cheney, Bush Sr., Rumsfeld and the rest of the neocons lining up to cover for Saddam, blocking the attempts by those liberalleftistantiamericans in the Congress and the Senate to stop American trade with Saddam and sanction the bastard. And we’re supposed to believe them now? Not likely…
Love to talk more Drew, but it’s time to leave my igloo, feed the sled dogs and go hunt some polar bear…ya dumbfuck…
and that was a right wing objection
Wrong.
Spare me your links – I don’t care what Google says. Tell me what you think, not offlink somewhere else. Again, now that the country is less stable – which wasn’t known at the time of the original proposal (how the hell could it), what makes it wrong now – besides the means?
Ok – if you must go, fine. You deserve everything you’ve got, I’m sure.
MikeSC: “It’s baffling how racist the left is: Apparently, Arabs don’t really want a voice in their future in their mindset.”
What’s even more baffling is that the left has most of the anthropologists and archeologists on their side. And they’re talking about the Children of Hammurabi. For those who don’t know, the Code of Hammurabi is the world’s oldest example of the rights of the citizens, literally engraved in stone. You can see it at the National Museum in Baghdad.
Ironic, huh?
Now go ahead, call me an anti American leftist…didn’t bother me in the eighties when I was protesting American support for Saddam,
Oh my, that tears it. I bow in the general direction of your signs and giant puppet bona fides. Far be from me to disabuse you of your “America made Saddam in the first place” delusions.
Carry on.
I remember Hermie from another blog where he accused Swift Boat Vet supporters of wearing tin foil hats!
To SUPERHAWK: this is the quote from Oliver :”One of their racist readers decides its a good idea to call me a “shoeshine boy”. Golly, wonder why some people think the GOP is lousy with racists?”
I believe that attributes it to one of the READERS, not at all trying to attribute it to the original post as you complain(re: why do lefty bloggers do this). Why do you “righty” bloggers lack the ability to read and comprehend?
That’s a good looking horse ass. That horse must work out.