Survivor IRAQ

Fear Shrouds Iraq's Elections in Secrecy, Confusion

Election centers have been bombed, candidates and electoral officials threatened and even killed. With only a week to go, intimidation is turning Iraq's landmark polls into a new kind of secret ballot.

Some Iraqis don't know who to vote for as most candidates keep their identities hidden, fearing for their lives.

Those who've made up their minds don't know where to cast their ballots, since the location of polling stations is being hushed up until the last minute to thwart election day attacks.

"We don't know these candidates, not their names, not their programs, not where they've come from. I will not vote for people I don't know," said Hussein Ali, a handyman in Baghdad.

"Until now, we don't know how to vote. I know there is an election center nearby, but I'm not sure exactly where it is."

Sunnis plan to ignore 'illegitimate' elections

Even among those who oppose the violence, there is deep frustration and anger.

"Many people thought when the Americans came they would change [Iraq] into heaven," said Khaled Dulaymi, who lost his job in the Information Ministry when Saddam's regime fell and now is struggling to pay for the black-market kerosene he needs to power the generators that heat and light his home.

"But now people say it would have been better if they had left us with Saddam Hussein," said the 40-year-old, his politeness masking a simmering rage as he served tea to a foreign guest.

"I see all the political parties, and they're just empty. All of them are from outside Iraq. None of them has honor. I will not vote."

Iraq Elections Face Boycotts and Growing Violence

The US ambassador to Iraq has acknowledged serious problems ahead of next weekend’s election but offered assurances that “great efforts” were being made so every Iraqi can vote.

But in an audiotape posted on the internet, a speaker claiming to be Iraq’s most feared terrorist declared “fierce war” on democracy, raising the stakes in the vote.

Rebels who have vowed to disrupt the balloting blew up a designated polling station near Hillah south of Baghdad and stormed a police station in Ramadi west of the capital, authorities said yesterday.

All I know is that if I was an Iraqi citizen, I'd pass. This upcoming vote is nothing more than a fig leaf for George W. Bush and his neocon cronies, not to mention the idiots who insist on keeping them in power. Can't you hear them now? "This election was not perfect, but it does represent historic progress in the American quest to free the people whose resources we're stealing." Or something like that.

Hussein Ali, the Baghdad handyman, says "We don't know these candidates, not their names, not their programs, not where they've come from. I will not vote for people I don't know."

Good call, Hussein. I've voted many times for people I didn't know - judges, constables, Railroad Commissioners, numerous county positions, etc. - and I can say with some certainty that casting votes for unknown candidates doesn't appear to have improved my quality of life. The assertion that anyone should be repeat my mistakes - particularly while risking life and limb to do so - is criminal.

Despite widespread and obvious problems with security and participation, the Bush Machine has firmly resisted extending the timeline for the Iraq elections. Why? Remember the Mission Accomplished sign. As usual, the Chimperor is in a hurry to declare victory before embarking on the Next Big Catastrophe. Like the Type A father driving a carload of kids to a vacation destination, George W. Bush has declared the timeline Priority One and there will be no stops to pee "so you'd just better hold it." Iraqi citizens will be murdered and maimed while attempting to support a democratic ideal, but does anyone believe this administration gives a rat's ass about them? Given their sorry track record, one would hope not, yet as long as the proper solemn announcements ooze forth after the fact, that'll be good enough for Bush and his stooges, including the American lapdog news media.

Invading Iraq was a choice, not an imperative. As an occupation force, America has a direct obligation - one which cannot be abridged by neocon platitudes - to provide a secure environment in which Iraqis can make an informed vote. By willfully ignoring this solemn duty to the Iraqi people, the United States is sabotaging the already bleak prospects for peace and sovereign rule. And the possibility of averting civil war - one which could easily grow into a regional, and, thus world war - grows smaller each day. Whether this is by design, malfeasance or indifference on the part of the Bush Machine remains to be seen.