Iraq on lockdown for days to keep peace during polling

[Inland]

Little remarked upon is the US having to put Iraq on lockdown in order to maintain a semblance of order during elections. There is a curfew in place, traffic is banned from Bagdad altogether.

The country hailed as a consitutional democracy relies on 160,000 US troops (a mere 140,000 were deemed insufficient, the US beefed up for the elections) and shutting down the country in order to have a simple poll.

Birth of democracy, or putting off the civil war until Saturday? It's all whistling past a graveyard.

[havocmom]

1. Democracy (and storm troopers) on the march in Iraq!

:eyes:

[NNN0LHI]

2. CNN showed US forces "securing" the polling places earlier

Got to hand it to them. No shame whatsoever.

Don

[bryant69]

3. That's the problem

Even if elections are fair; the new government won't have any legitimacy unless it can get the United States to leave. And I don't think we will leave.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Inland]

4. That's probably right

I'm thinking about Puerto Rico's referenda on independence vs. statehood, and even with those the fact of a US prescence is argued to be an influence preventing fair voting. I don't think it's true for PR, but anyone who believes it doesnt' think the vote legititmate.

I really don't feel like gambling the future of the US anymore. Hope isn't a plan.

[bigtree]

5. Fair elections under foreign occupation? Where has that ever occurred?

Where has there been a fair election under the occupation of a hostile invading army? There was no mandate, no invitation from the Iraqis for us to invade them. We bombed their country's infrastructure into a pre-industrial state, we indiscriminately bombed and killed thousands of innocent civilians in our drive to consolidate power there. We installed an interim government that had a clear advantage in the elections that we sponsored, monitored, and controlled access to. There is not free movement throughout Iraq. The new government's military, described by Sunnis as a death squad, has been actively engaged in hunting down and retaliating against opponents of the Shiite dominated authority.

There can be no free election under our occupation. There can be no free election as long as the U.S. continues to exercise the heavy hand of our military against opposition groups, and continues to bully the new Iraqi authority into allegiance to our aims and ambitions.

[dkofos]

6. They don't want traffic impeding the movement of fake ballots!!