Michael Yon reports on the ratification vote

[link|http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/|On the scene, seeing what's happening]

Excerpts:

Unit after unit that we stopped in was proud that nothing was happening in their sectors, and now that the polls were closed, it was a matter of securing the ballots.

We then visited the 504th from Fort Lewis, who had detailed instructions on one of the doors on how to \ufffdTurn a Hamster into a Fighting Machine.\ufffd Basically, just select a hamster and tape a knife to its back...

We walked into the TOC of the 504th, and the board was quiet. Nothing.

And that was it: 1903 hours, the four Humvees from the 42nd MPs drove away in the darkness, and we drove home. This was the finest, most complete mission I had ever gone on.

Next morning, the Army said there had been 19 attacks on polling sites throughout Iraq. In January there had been 108 attacks on polling sites. There had been about 300 total attacks during the January election day, and the Army said there had been 89 total attacks in Iraq during this voting day.

It had been quiet from my perch. The guns had been silenced long enough that we could hear the Iraqi voice speak for a second time. The voice was louder, stronger, and prouder than it had been in January.

I say:

Winning hearts and minds? I'll settle for 78 percent and change.

[link|http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-constitution26oct26,0,2819633.story?coll=la-home-headlines|http://www.latimes.c...la-home-headlines]

Iraqi voters have ratified a new constitution by a margin of nearly 4 to 1, election officials announced Tuesday as complete returns showed that the country's disaffected Sunni Arab minority had narrowly failed to muster enough no votes in three provinces to block the charter's adoption.

The result, declared 10 days after a nationwide referendum, raised cries of protest from some Sunni leaders, who had claimed that the count was rigged. But Iraqi election officials and United Nations monitors said a selective recount turned up no significant incidents of fraud.

Shiite Muslim and Kurdish politicians who lead Iraq's coalition government hailed the passage of the U.S.-backed charter, and President Bush declared in Washington that "the Iraqi people have once again proved their determination to build a democracy united against extremism and violence."

But their oft-stated message that the new charter would help isolate the Sunni-led insurgency was drowned out by guerrilla attacks, including car bombings that killed at least seven people in the usually calm Kurdish city of Sulaymaniya.

That violence came a day after a triple car-bomb attack on the Palestine Hotel, one of the most complex and coordinated assaults insurgents have staged in Baghdad. The hotel houses many Western journalists, but the 17 people reported killed in the evening bombings were Iraqis \ufffd most of them hotel guards and passersby.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari said the attacks Monday night and Tuesday were timed to the announcement of voting results and meant to signal the rebels' rejection of the constitution.

"These terrorists are going to take their last breath before they vanish," Jafari told reporters.

Iraq has been run since June 2004 by two transitional governments under an interim constitution drafted with the help of American and British officials.

The new, Iraqi-drafted charter calls for the Dec. 15 election of a National Assembly that will sit for four years and appoint a government that U.S. officials and many Iraqis hope can confront the insurgency more effectively.

Sunni Muslim Arabs, who make up about one-fifth of the country's population, voted overwhelmingly against the charter.
-----------
So we have a 20% minority that is united against the constitution and willing to carry out terrorism to make themselves heard. Mission NOT FUCKING ACCOMPLISHED.

Here's the problem with your fucks. You think the military is the right tool for every job you see. The military is a FUCKING SLEDGEHAMMER and you morons are trying to do a BRAIN TRANSPLANT with it. What are the odds of success? Perhaps we should round up 100 pro-military neocons and some surgeons with just sledgehammers and see.

The right tool for this job would include DIPLOMACY and EDUCATION - but we're never going to see that because those are pretty much kryptonite to the republican MIGHT MAKES MONEY and INTELLIGENT DESIGN cabal. Besides, our ADHD pReznit hasn't got the stones or the attention span to execute the long term program that would require.

fuckwit.

Post #230,907 by marlowe 10/25/05 7:59:26 PM Reply	Michael Yon reports on the ratification vote [link\|http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/\|On the scene, seeing what's happening] Excerpts: Unit after unit that we stopped in was proud that nothing was happening in their sectors, and now that the polls were closed, it was a matter of securing the ballots. We then visited the 504th from Fort Lewis, who had detailed instructions on one of the doors on how to \ufffdTurn a Hamster into a Fighting Machine.\ufffd Basically, just select a hamster and tape a knife to its back... We walked into the TOC of the 504th, and the board was quiet. Nothing. And that was it: 1903 hours, the four Humvees from the 42nd MPs drove away in the darkness, and we drove home. This was the finest, most complete mission I had ever gone on. Next morning, the Army said there had been 19 attacks on polling sites throughout Iraq. In January there had been 108 attacks on polling sites. There had been about 300 total attacks during the January election day, and the Army said there had been 89 total attacks in Iraq during this voting day. It had been quiet from my perch. The guns had been silenced long enough that we could hear the Iraqi voice speak for a second time. The voice was louder, stronger, and prouder than it had been in January. I say: Winning hearts and minds? I'll settle for 78 percent and change. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4 out of 5 Iraqis choose democracy! If you don't like my posts, don't click on them. Never mind the AP. Here's the real Iraq reporting: [link\|http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/\|http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/] "The period of debate is closed. Arms, as the last resort, decide the contest." - Thomas Paine, Common Sense
Post #231,020 by tuberculosis 10/26/05 1:55:06 PM Reply	Different perspective [link\|http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-constitution26oct26,0,2819633.story?coll=la-home-headlines\|http://www.latimes.c...la-home-headlines] Iraqi voters have ratified a new constitution by a margin of nearly 4 to 1, election officials announced Tuesday as complete returns showed that the country's disaffected Sunni Arab minority had narrowly failed to muster enough no votes in three provinces to block the charter's adoption. The result, declared 10 days after a nationwide referendum, raised cries of protest from some Sunni leaders, who had claimed that the count was rigged. But Iraqi election officials and United Nations monitors said a selective recount turned up no significant incidents of fraud. Shiite Muslim and Kurdish politicians who lead Iraq's coalition government hailed the passage of the U.S.-backed charter, and President Bush declared in Washington that "the Iraqi people have once again proved their determination to build a democracy united against extremism and violence." But their oft-stated message that the new charter would help isolate the Sunni-led insurgency was drowned out by guerrilla attacks, including car bombings that killed at least seven people in the usually calm Kurdish city of Sulaymaniya. That violence came a day after a triple car-bomb attack on the Palestine Hotel, one of the most complex and coordinated assaults insurgents have staged in Baghdad. The hotel houses many Western journalists, but the 17 people reported killed in the evening bombings were Iraqis \ufffd most of them hotel guards and passersby. Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari said the attacks Monday night and Tuesday were timed to the announcement of voting results and meant to signal the rebels' rejection of the constitution. "These terrorists are going to take their last breath before they vanish," Jafari told reporters. Iraq has been run since June 2004 by two transitional governments under an interim constitution drafted with the help of American and British officials. The new, Iraqi-drafted charter calls for the Dec. 15 election of a National Assembly that will sit for four years and appoint a government that U.S. officials and many Iraqis hope can confront the insurgency more effectively. Sunni Muslim Arabs, who make up about one-fifth of the country's population, voted overwhelmingly against the charter. ----------- So we have a 20% minority that is united against the constitution and willing to carry out terrorism to make themselves heard. Mission NOT FUCKING ACCOMPLISHED. Here's the problem with your fucks. You think the military is the right tool for every job you see. The military is a FUCKING SLEDGEHAMMER and you morons are trying to do a BRAIN TRANSPLANT with it. What are the odds of success? Perhaps we should round up 100 pro-military neocons and some surgeons with just sledgehammers and see. The right tool for this job would include DIPLOMACY and EDUCATION - but we're never going to see that because those are pretty much kryptonite to the republican MIGHT MAKES MONEY and INTELLIGENT DESIGN cabal. Besides, our ADHD pReznit hasn't got the stones or the attention span to execute the long term program that would require. fuckwit. "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush
Post #231,565 by marlowe 10/30/05 6:47:35 PM Reply	Desperate spin. 80% outvotes 20%. That's democracy. I believe in democracy. Do you? ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4 out of 5 Iraqis choose democracy! If you don't like my posts, don't click on them. Never mind the AP. Here's the real Iraq reporting: [link\|http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/\|http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/] "The period of debate is closed. Arms, as the last resort, decide the contest." - Thomas Paine, Common Sense
Post #231,570 by Andrew Grygus 10/30/05 7:09:09 PM Reply	That vote doesn't mean democracy. It means two sectarian groups outnumber one. Violence to follow. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #231,593 by rcareaga 10/30/05 9:15:08 PM Reply	You may believe in democracy... But as you demonstrated a long time ago, [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=84457\|you really don't have a clue about the mechanisms]. Fap, fap. Fap, fap. Die Welt ist alles, was der Fall ist.

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