Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Iraqi campaigning comes to a stop as traffic ban goes into effect ahead of
elections
By PATRICK QUINN - Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - (AP) Campaigning came to a stop Wednesday around
Iraq to give the country's 15 million voters an opportunity to reflect
before deciding who will govern their country for the next four years.
Streets in Baghdad were eerily quiet one day before Thursday's
election, with police strictly enforcing a traffic ban. Only the noise from
an occasional police siren, sporadic gunshot or U.S. helicopter could be
heard. Borders and airports have also been closed and the nighttime curfew
has been extended.
A police officer was killed and four others were injured by a
roadside bomb that exploded next to an Interior Ministry patrol in northern
Mosul, the city's al-Jumhouri hospital said.
Iraq's election commission said that it had registered 6,655
candidates running on 996 lists and had certified 307 political groups _
either in the form of single candidates or parties _ and 19 coalitions.
Baghdad is Iraq's biggest electoral district with 2,161 candidates
running for 59 of the 275 seats in Iraq's parliament, according to
commission's executive director, Adel Ali al-Lami. There are 33,000 polling
stations around Iraq.
The Interior Ministry was looking into reports that a tanker truck
filled with thousands of blank ballots had been confiscated in a town near
the Iranian border. A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the truck came
from Iran and was seized Tuesday in the border town of Badra, about 150
kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
On the last day of campaigning, a roadside bomb killed four American
soldiers and gunmen assassinated a candidate for parliament in this week's
election. A Shiite politician escaped injury in a bombing south of Baghdad.
The American deaths in northwest Baghdad brought to at least 2,149 the
number of U.S. service members to have died since the start of the war in
2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The U.S. ambassador, meanwhile, said Tuesday the total number of
abused prisoners found so far in jails run by the Shiite-led Interior
Ministry came to about 120. The statement by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
reinforced Sunni Arab claims of mistreatment by security forces _ a major
issue among Sunnis in the election campaign.
Despite the violence, more than 1,000 Sunni clerics issued a
religious decree instructing their followers to vote Thursday, boosting
American hopes the election will encourage more members of the disaffected
minority to abandon the insurgency.
Three of Iraq's leading politicians agreed Tuesday that a speedy
withdrawal by foreign troops before Iraqi forces are ready would cause
chaos.
But the three _ former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, Kurdish leader
Massoud Barzani and Sunni Arab politician Tariq al-Hashimi _ disagreed on
the description of U.S. and other foreign troops. Barzani described them as
"forces of liberation," while al-Hashimi said they were occupiers.
The three leaders, speaking from Baghdad, appeared in a debate on
the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television. Such debates are rare in the Arab
world, where candidates mainly rely on rallies attended by hand-picked
followers.
Their comments were noteworthy because they represent important
constituencies in the Thursday vote.
Barzani heads the Kurdish autonomous region in the north and is
among the country's most powerful politicians. Allawi heads a religiously
mixed ticket in the Thursday election. Al-Hashimi represents a major Sunni
Arab coalition.
Allawi, a secular Shiite, said an early U.S. withdrawal "will lead
to a catastrophic war." And al-Hashimi, whose party has been sharply
critical of the U.S. role, said he looked forward to "my country's
liberation" but not "to be followed by chaos." Allawi also said early U.S.
withdrawal "will lead to a catastrophic war."
Al-Hashimi criticized President George W. Bush for saying the United
States is fighting terrorism in Iraq.
"Why should Iraqis pay a bill for something they have nothing to do
with?" said al-Hashimi, a candidate for parliament. "Terrorism is not the
problem of Iraqis."
Washington hopes a large turnout among Sunni Arabs will produce a
government that can win the trust of the minority community that is the
backbone of the insurgency. That would in turn allow the United States and
its coalition partners to start withdrawing their troops next year.
Iraqis living outside the country began voting Tuesday in the United
States and 14 other countries. Strong turnout was seen in polling stations
around the world, including in Syria, Jordan and Iran, where Associated
Press reporters witnessed heavier turnout compared to Iraq's January
elections.
Many Sunnis boycotted the January election, enabling rival Shiites
and Kurds to win most of the seats in the interim parliament _ a development
that sharpened communal tensions and fueled the insurgency. But unlike
January's vote, which elected a government which was to last for less than
one year, the term of the new government will be four times that.
In an encouraging sign, more than 1,000 Sunni clerics issued a
religious edict, or a fatwa, on Tuesday urging followers to vote.
While some prominent clerics with links to the insurgency have
avoided calling on their followers to vote, the edict is likely to encourage
many Sunnis to go to the polls. They hope that more participation will
lessen the ability of the Shiite majority to abuse them. yes
Six insurgent groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq, have said they
would not attack polling stations. But they all vowed to continue their war
against U.S.-led coalition forces.
Ambassador Khalilzad said on the prisoner abuse issue that "over
100" of the detainees found last month at an Interior Ministry jail in
Baghdad's Jadriyah district were suffering signs of abuse. An additional "21
or 26 people" were found three days ago at another Interior Ministry lockup,
he said.
Khalilzad said the United States would "accelerate the
investigation" to determine who was responsible for abuses _ a longtime
Sunni Arab demand.
elections
By PATRICK QUINN - Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - (AP) Campaigning came to a stop Wednesday around
Iraq to give the country's 15 million voters an opportunity to reflect
before deciding who will govern their country for the next four years.
Streets in Baghdad were eerily quiet one day before Thursday's
election, with police strictly enforcing a traffic ban. Only the noise from
an occasional police siren, sporadic gunshot or U.S. helicopter could be
heard. Borders and airports have also been closed and the nighttime curfew
has been extended.
A police officer was killed and four others were injured by a
roadside bomb that exploded next to an Interior Ministry patrol in northern
Mosul, the city's al-Jumhouri hospital said.
Iraq's election commission said that it had registered 6,655
candidates running on 996 lists and had certified 307 political groups _
either in the form of single candidates or parties _ and 19 coalitions.
Baghdad is Iraq's biggest electoral district with 2,161 candidates
running for 59 of the 275 seats in Iraq's parliament, according to
commission's executive director, Adel Ali al-Lami. There are 33,000 polling
stations around Iraq.
The Interior Ministry was looking into reports that a tanker truck
filled with thousands of blank ballots had been confiscated in a town near
the Iranian border. A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the truck came
from Iran and was seized Tuesday in the border town of Badra, about 150
kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
On the last day of campaigning, a roadside bomb killed four American
soldiers and gunmen assassinated a candidate for parliament in this week's
election. A Shiite politician escaped injury in a bombing south of Baghdad.
The American deaths in northwest Baghdad brought to at least 2,149 the
number of U.S. service members to have died since the start of the war in
2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The U.S. ambassador, meanwhile, said Tuesday the total number of
abused prisoners found so far in jails run by the Shiite-led Interior
Ministry came to about 120. The statement by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
reinforced Sunni Arab claims of mistreatment by security forces _ a major
issue among Sunnis in the election campaign.
Despite the violence, more than 1,000 Sunni clerics issued a
religious decree instructing their followers to vote Thursday, boosting
American hopes the election will encourage more members of the disaffected
minority to abandon the insurgency.
Three of Iraq's leading politicians agreed Tuesday that a speedy
withdrawal by foreign troops before Iraqi forces are ready would cause
chaos.
But the three _ former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, Kurdish leader
Massoud Barzani and Sunni Arab politician Tariq al-Hashimi _ disagreed on
the description of U.S. and other foreign troops. Barzani described them as
"forces of liberation," while al-Hashimi said they were occupiers.
The three leaders, speaking from Baghdad, appeared in a debate on
the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television. Such debates are rare in the Arab
world, where candidates mainly rely on rallies attended by hand-picked
followers.
Their comments were noteworthy because they represent important
constituencies in the Thursday vote.
Barzani heads the Kurdish autonomous region in the north and is
among the country's most powerful politicians. Allawi heads a religiously
mixed ticket in the Thursday election. Al-Hashimi represents a major Sunni
Arab coalition.
Allawi, a secular Shiite, said an early U.S. withdrawal "will lead
to a catastrophic war." And al-Hashimi, whose party has been sharply
critical of the U.S. role, said he looked forward to "my country's
liberation" but not "to be followed by chaos." Allawi also said early U.S.
withdrawal "will lead to a catastrophic war."
Al-Hashimi criticized President George W. Bush for saying the United
States is fighting terrorism in Iraq.
"Why should Iraqis pay a bill for something they have nothing to do
with?" said al-Hashimi, a candidate for parliament. "Terrorism is not the
problem of Iraqis."
Washington hopes a large turnout among Sunni Arabs will produce a
government that can win the trust of the minority community that is the
backbone of the insurgency. That would in turn allow the United States and
its coalition partners to start withdrawing their troops next year.
Iraqis living outside the country began voting Tuesday in the United
States and 14 other countries. Strong turnout was seen in polling stations
around the world, including in Syria, Jordan and Iran, where Associated
Press reporters witnessed heavier turnout compared to Iraq's January
elections.
Many Sunnis boycotted the January election, enabling rival Shiites
and Kurds to win most of the seats in the interim parliament _ a development
that sharpened communal tensions and fueled the insurgency. But unlike
January's vote, which elected a government which was to last for less than
one year, the term of the new government will be four times that.
In an encouraging sign, more than 1,000 Sunni clerics issued a
religious edict, or a fatwa, on Tuesday urging followers to vote.
While some prominent clerics with links to the insurgency have
avoided calling on their followers to vote, the edict is likely to encourage
many Sunnis to go to the polls. They hope that more participation will
lessen the ability of the Shiite majority to abuse them. yes
Six insurgent groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq, have said they
would not attack polling stations. But they all vowed to continue their war
against U.S.-led coalition forces.
Ambassador Khalilzad said on the prisoner abuse issue that "over
100" of the detainees found last month at an Interior Ministry jail in
Baghdad's Jadriyah district were suffering signs of abuse. An additional "21
or 26 people" were found three days ago at another Interior Ministry lockup,
he said.
Khalilzad said the United States would "accelerate the
investigation" to determine who was responsible for abuses _ a longtime
Sunni Arab demand.