The polls have been closed for nearly 12 hours now. We're coming up on five o'clock Baghdad time on the morning of January 31, 2005. The euphoria will be starting to wear off I imagine, and by the end of the week there will be a few people who will look back and say, "Did that really happen?" But it did. Things are different now. Attitudes are different now. Here are some of the Iraqi bloggers who had not weighed in by the time of my last entry.
Najma, The Star from Mosul, all of sixteen, viewed the voting with a mix of cynicism and envy. She quotes Kin Hubbard, "We'd all like to vote for the best man but he's never a candidate." In Mosul voting is not so easy.
The streets are empty today, as usual.. A police car declaring the names of the school that we can vote in came twice in our street. We can hear explosions in the distance.
But in the end,
(UPDATE: Now I really am jealous.. Grandma, my aunt and my uncle voted today, they're all in Baghdad so it was easier for them..)
Hammorabi celebrates the birth of a new Iraq.
Great day!
It is the birth of freedom and democracy in Iraq!
It is a great festival!
Today only we may announce the victory!
Today we hit back in the heart of the terrorists and the tyrants!
Today is the day in which the souls of our martyrs comforted...Our thanks go to George W Bush who will enter the history as the leader of the freedom and democracy in the recent history! He and his people are our friends for ever!
At this moment the voting closed and we will see the results then!
God bless Iraq and America.
Baghdad Dweller says they caught al Zarqawi in a disguise trying to get into one of the voting stations. He has the picture to prove it.
It's Monday morning in Baghdad.
I'm back from a weekend hiking vacation in your great state. The initial reports out of Iraq are fantastic...I'm optimistic this will translate into real freedom, choice, and most of all safety, for the Iraqi people.
Posted by: Scott | January 31, 2005 at 09:09 AM
The Iraqis always seem to surprise me. Al Sistani first appeared to be a cleric in the Iranian mold, but his support for elections has been crucial. His position that clergy should not hold office is encouraging too. If his Shia following heeds his fatwa, Iraqis can avoid the fate of the Iranians who live in a repressive theocracy.
Posted by: Tom Bowler | January 31, 2005 at 12:25 PM
I have no problem with a democratic theocracy, with clerics running in elections, if they choose one...but an Iranian-style theocracy with power usurped from the people is completely unacceptable.
Posted by: Scott | January 31, 2005 at 01:25 PM