Blogging the democratic revolution
Daniel Drezner posts a large roundup, along with some of his own comments, from mainstream media writers about the future effects of the Iraq election. UPDATE: More from Pejman.
You may remember me directing you toward a post about how an Iraqi democrat’s family was killed for his views and actions. Neo Conneli has the rest of the story on this guy’s background, and the lack of coverage in the western media.
Chrenkoff’s Good News from Iraq installment number 21 is up! Like always, I hope you have a few hours of extra time to read it.
I take it they are playing it safe with a precarious situation: BAGHDAD, IRAQ – With a Shiite coalition set to take power in Iraq, American officials have begun grilling top Iraqi Shiite politicians to try to gauge the extent of their relationship with neighboring Iran, a predominantly Shiite nation ruled by its clergy. The nature of the Shiite coalition’s ties to Iran has become a crucial issue now that the cleric-backed alliance has emerged as the leading faction in the new Iraqi parliament and at a time when the United States and Iran are engaged in a war of…
They just got released, and as expected, the Shiites dominated: BAGHDAD, Iraq Feb 13, 2005 ???????? Iraq’s majority Shiite Muslims won nearly half the votes in the nation’s Jan. 30 election, giving the long-oppressed group significant power but not enough to form a government on their own. The Shiites likely will have to form a coalition in the 275-member National Assembly with the other top vote-getters the Kurds and Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s list to push through their agenda and select a president and prime minister. The president and two vice presidents must be elected by a two-thirds majority. The…
I just received this email from The Dread Pundit Bluto: A family member serving in Kuwait says that the troops there don’t have access to news about the area because the only major news source in the camps is CNN. He says the troops have been trying to find information on blogs. Recent terrorist activity in Kuwait makes this a pressing issue, especially since al-Qaeda linked terror cells have admitted wanting to target routine convoys from Kuwait to Iraq. This is not the sort of thing CNN reports until it’s too late. This is a post summarizing recent events in…
Daniel Henninger thinks so: The Nobel Peace Prize Committee will announce its 2005 winner in October. I think that this year the voters of Iraq should receive the Nobel Peace Prize. They have already won the world’s peace prize by demonstrating in a single day a commitment not seen in our lifetime to peace, self-determination and human rights–the goals for which the Nobel Peace Prize began in 1901. Formal recognition by the Nobel Committee of what the Iraqi people did on Jan. 30 would do more to ensure the furtherance of these goals, in concrete ways, than any other imaginable…
I just came across more commentary from Iraq the Model on the assassination attempt of a democratic Iraqi politician.
In case you weren’t invited to the party, here is a recap: BAGHDAD ???????? U.S. military police threw a mudwrestling party at a prison camp in Iraq and a woman who took part has been found guilty of indecent exposure and demoted, the U.S. military said on Monday. At least three female guards stripped to their underwear and wrestled each other in a paddling pool full of mud in the grounds of Camp Bucca, the biggest U.S. camp for detainees in Iraq, Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said. Several guards who watched the wrestling have been reprimanded for failing to intervene.…
Neo Coneli posts an enormous writeup about recent attacks on an Iraqi politician’s life and how the media doesn’t understand why he is being targeted. Very in depth.
They are recounting 300 ballot boxes from outlying regions to confirm the count. Doesn’t sound so bad to me, but it is somewat demoralizing to those who want to keep the energy high and know the outcome for sure. Iraqi election officials admitted on Wednesday that the result of the country’s elections 11 days ago would be delayed to allow a recount of 300 ballot boxes from outlying regions. The officials did not say when the final results, which had been due for release on Thursday, would be published. “It will be a little bit delayed,” said Farid Ayar, spokesman…
The mainstream media hadn’t really gotten it yet, but those Christians protesting that they didn’t get the ability to vote hit the streets in Baghdad: ”We are protesting because we have been deprived of our right to participate in the elections,” said Shameil Benjamin, a member of a Christian party called the Democratic Assyrian Movement. ”There were irregularities and we felt that the injustice was inflicted on us.” A spokesman for Chaldean and Assyrian parties, William Warda, said the irregularities prevented 200,000 people from voting. The demonstrators gathered outside the Green Zone, which houses the offices of the interim Iraqi…
Pejman notes an article in the Washington Post that recognizes how Sunni groups are willing to participate in writing the new constitution of their country. Influential Sunni Arab leaders of a boycott of last Sunday’s elections expressed a new willingness Friday to engage the coming Iraqi government and play a role in writing the constitution, in what may represent a strategic shift in thinking among mainstream anti-occupation groups. The signs remain tentative, and even advocates of such change suggest that much will depend on the posture the new government takes toward the insurgency and the removal of former Baath Party…
Fayrouz Hancock of Live From Dallas posts about over 100,000 villagers who did not receive voting materials in the elections this past Sunday. For fear of this post being way too long, just go to the link and check it out. There are several updates to the situation. During the last two days, I’ve been following the news of the Christian villages in Mosul that didn’t get the chance to vote. The real reason is still unclear. There are 100,000 eligible voters in those villages. Those voters are disappointed by not being able to vote. I don’t blame them. ……
One of the more interesting stories I have been reading lately is how a village of Iraqis fought back against insurgents threatening them with violence. MARK WILLACY: That’s right, Tony. The Iraqi police have investigated a case in the village of al-Mudhariya, which is just south of Baghdad. The villagers there say that before the election insurgents came and warned them that if they voted in last weekend’s election, they would pay. Now the people of this mixed village of Sunni and Shia Muslims, they ignored the threat and they did turn out to vote. We understand that last night…
I find this symbolic in a way: Via: Reuters
Norman Geras is pissed at the Guardian’s editorial section. But honestly, it’s no use getting mad at people who can’t write.
John Hawkins has his own roundup of favorite quotes from blogs on the Iraq election. I’ve posted similar lists earlier on if you’re interested, just scroll.
I hope Bloggle doesn’t mind too much, but I just had to post this in full: Jack Chirac told president Bush in a phone conversation that “The participation rate and the good technical organization of the elections were satisfactory.” Say what you want, but the famous silver-tongued French certainly know how to gussy up a phrase, don’t they? I can see Jack making the moves on one of the tarts on the Champs d’Elysee, running a hand through his thinning pate, leaning in to fill his Gallic nostrils with sweet Parisian parfum, and whispering, “Ah mademoiselle, your lips are quite…
Mohammed ponders the victory over the terrorists, and what must now be done to use this victory to its greatest advantage. If anything, they can take some notes from Ukraine on how to direct that kind of energy.
John is reporting on good press in the Arab media post-Iraq elections: This New York Times article is a surprisingly positive one about both the Iraqi elections and the way in which Arab media covered them. Of particular interest is the coverage of the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network, The daylong reporting of the election process, details on the personalities and almost step-by-step guides to the voting were a significant departure from what the Arab news media has produced in some time. Perhaps the most ambitious effort came from Al Arabiya, which had eight satellite trucks broadcasting from across Iraq, as well…
Chrenkoff has posted his next installment of good news from Iraq, but you might need a few hours to read it all. And that is definitely a good thing.
I thought this picture needed its own post… Via Jeff Jarvis
Chrenkoff has posted his part 3 of E-day news. And he promises the “Good News From Iraq” roundup tomorrow.
I was reading the comments from Iraq the Model and noticed the sweet presence of visitors from other lands fighting oppression in their own distant countries. I loved the greetings from the Chinese and Venezuelan names. Word is spreading to every corner on earth,. And the reality is, their time for freedom is going to come too. We are all in this together. And we all share in Iraq’s joy. Miguel’s got a beautiful short item up in his Venezuelan blog, well worth reading.