The Iraqi elections...

[Devastatin Dave]

What's your opinion?

[Ser Clegane]

High turnout (including many Sunnis) and the day was relatively peaceful - so I would say things look very good so far.

[Adrian II]

High turnout (including many Sunnis) and the day was relatively peaceful - so I would say things look very good so far.

Good turn-out as well: I hear many Shiites even voted twice.

[LeftEyeNine]

Good turn-out as well: I hear many Shiites even voted twice.

Same told about Kurds.. Turkmens say so..

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Who cares its just puppet government anyway right?

[A.Saturnus]

But who´s puppet

[LeftEyeNine]

Who cares its just puppet government anyway right?

That area is now full of puppets, "divide and control" always worked throughout the history.

[Ser Clegane]

Good turn-out as well: I hear many Shiites even voted twice.

That might well be - but, quite frankly, I did not expect an election process that meets all democatric standards yet.
Yes - there will be irregularities. It will be important to see how this is dealt with. However, even more important is the fact that a group that boycotted the last vote is now participating - a prerequisite to stabilize the country.
So, so far I would prefer to see the glass as half full with regard to the elections.

Let's see how things develop. It would be foolish to expect that these elections will cause a radical improvement of the situation in Iraq - but at least they seem to be a step in the right direction, which cannot be said about all developments in Iraq.

[Adrian II]

So, so far I would prefer to see the glass as half full with regard to the elections.

The glass has long been broken.

[Ser Clegane]

The glass has long been broken.

So, what's your alternative to these elections?

[Adrian II]

What's your opinion?

Stop whining, Dave!

[master of the puppets]

looks good so far, as was stated a good turnout and terrorists at bay by the astounding number of Irqi soldiers out (abot 95% of the force) though i have heard little of the candidates i hope they are willing to display the severed heads of terrorist on pikes around the city.

[LeftEyeNine]

One dead close to an election place in Musul. Two mortar shots on the Green Zone in Baghdad where governmental and diplomatic offices reside.. Peaceful in general..

[Strike For The South]

I glad its going well and hope Iraq will be able to stand on its own 2 feet

[Tribesman]

I glad its going well and hope Iraq will be able to stand on its own 2 feet
Make that its own six feet while kicking the shite out of each other along tribal/religeous lines SFTS .
It would have been 10 feet but the turkomen and christians seem to have had their legs cut off already .

[Strike For The South]

I glad its going well and hope Iraq will be able to stand on its own 2 feet
Make that its own six feet while kicking the shite out of each other along tribal/religeous lines SFTS .
It would have been 10 feet but the turkomen and christians seem to have had their legs cut off already .

Im just trying to be optomistic

[Tribesman]

I would like to be optimistic , but this election wil be followed by more wrangling and assasinations until they finally decide to throw an inconsequential position with no power but a big title to a secular leader to try and shut them up and play ball , then it goes back to making a constitution as the last final and definitive step they took that way left the main issues still undecided , so with the Shite religeous groups calling the shots that means uh oh a new Iranian sub-state .
Meanwhile with the Kurds miraculous voter registration program they are likely to add another province to their self governing body which is great , if you happen to be a Kurd living there , if you ain't then its time to move out quickly before you end up having an unfortunate accident . The self governing body will continue on its way and break away , leading to lots of wider problems .

[JAG]

Wow, Adrian can talk a whole heap of sense at times, very well put sir.

One of the only good things to come out of the whole Iraqi invasion, at least, has been the proven failure of the 'new norm' of military action, that being preemptive war.

Dave, the elections are a sham, not only are they far from being fair and free - of which the basis of elections are meant to stand on - but also they are for an office which has it's economic policy dictated to it by the IMF and US corporations and it's social policy dictated by it's lack of economic control. So, win, win for the US, is that why your so happy?