CNN: Truck with allegedly fake ballots detained (Iraq)

[kittenwithmittens]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- With the country's parliamentary elections slated for Thursday and early voting already under way, a truck carrying what are believed to be fake ballots was detained in the Iraqi border province of Wasit, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

U.S. investigators were being sent to examine the ballots in Wasit, located on the Iranian border southeast of Baghdad.

The truck's driver was Iranian, as was the truck's license plate, said an Iraqi Interior Ministry source. Authorities are investigating reports that other vehicles with possible fake ballots have been trying to cross the border into Iraq.

more

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/13/iraq.main/index.html

:yoiks:

[fooj]

1. Welcome to DU!!! You've got the hang of this already!

Peace.

[kittenwithmittens]

2. Oh poop!

It's a dupe!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1985168

And thank you for the welcome. I didn't see the other one. Sorry!

[0007]

8. Don't lose you mittens, kitten. Welcome home.

[Greeby]

3. Suprise Suprise

:eyes:

[sendero]

4. With cat references..

... in your username, you will go far here! :)

Welcome to DU - and don't worry about the dup, veterans do it all the time :)

[kittenwithmittens]

6. Thank you!

I really did look first, honest! I guess I should use that search thingy.

[Dunvegan]

5. Modus Operandi Continuum: Fake the ballots ovah there...

...so we can PRACTICE faking ballots ovah here.

If the American administration "Architects of Democracy" have anything at all to do this Pro-Shiite / Anti-Sunni vote hijacking, that's evidence we've not just a slippery slope to US election theft here, but a sheer Grand Canyon freefall.

K&R, and looking for further news.

[maxrandb]

24. How About this for a Bush Slogan

"We want to practice Democracy over there, so we don't have to practice it here."

[DemonFighterLives]

7. We can't have Iranian Fake Ballots

Only Official BFEE Fake Ballots!
Welcome to DU!

[mindwalker_i]

9. Copyright

Diebold should sue for trademark infringement.

-mwalker

[Roy]

10. Good one!!!

[0007]

12. No shit!

[handsignals4theblind]

11. Perhaps it was the same truck the SAS commandos on a bombing run used?

WEll well,well all it shows is that the election is a rush to establish sectarian turf.- The Pentagon funded, trained,armed death squad militias, et al will help do the rest.-Hey if it worked in Colombia, and El Salvador why knock a good thing

OH_ about those 2 SAS--commandos as suicide bombers>?-Initial BBC reports stated that Iraqi police had stopped- 2 SAS UK commandos, in a truck full of weapons and explosives, dressed as ARABS. Of course subsequent reports omitted a few details. Guess which ones?:bounce: illegal codesmilie_remote(':bounce:')

[xultar]

13. I suppose the outside of the truck said Diebold.

[IndianaGreen]

14. They are learning from the GOP

They should get kudos for understanding how American democracy really works!

[earthside]

15. If It Weren't a Tragedy-It Would be Funny

Where to start?

The Bushites run Iraq, they've put 160,000 troops there and they cannot secure a simple paper ballot system!

This is the Bushites we're talking about ... Florida - 2000! Ohio - 2004!

So the 'outcome' of the election is already tainted. If the Shi'ites win big (even legitimately) the Sunnis have every reason to scream "Election Theft!"

The front page of the Rocky Mountain News this morning had a full page photo of an Iraq soldier holding up THREE purple ink fingers ... does that mean he voted THREE times?!

Bush is going to give a speech tomorrow and I'll bet he talks about how "historic" the Iraqi election is ... but the truck load of fake ballots kind of rains on his parade.

Of course, tragically, this will give Bush another reason to bomb Iran.

What a total, total mess and catastrophe.

If it weren't such a disaster costing so many lives ... it would be funny.

[imported_dem]

22. Considering the truck was prevented from entering the country

How did they not secure the system ?

[winter999]

23. Three votes:

One last January, one last October, and one last Tuesday (soldiers voted early).

[LisaL]

16. I feel so bad for the Iraqis. No money.

Need to make bothersome fake paper ballots.
Would have been so much easier with Diebold.

[texpatriot2004]

17. Welcome to DU Kittenwithmittens and thanks for this post nm

[texpatriot2004]

18. Look it's just like American "Democracy" under BushCo nm

[ClintonTyree]

19. Where the hell do they think they are, Florida?

Glad to see Iraq is getting a taste of "Democracy", American style. Next, we'll be flying the Supreme Court over there to handle all of the "messy details" associated with free, Democratic elections.

[ucmike]

20. we'll know something was weird when....

bush wins the election in iraq.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

21. Oh, yeah! Iranian WMDs (Weapons of Mass Deception)!!

[Selteri]

25. Further down the article they talk about more torture... NT

[Trevelyan]

31. Please visit the site of the very brave Guantanomo Protesters

http://www.witnesstorture.org/ Don't be complicit with torture anymore. Sign the Solidarity Letter and write your Congresspersons and the media to give these courageous people public awareness.

U.S. Catholic activits to march on Guantanamo prison
By Esteban Israel Reuters

HAVANA, Dec 6 (Reuters) - A group of 25 American Catholic peace activists, defying a U.S. travel ban to Cuba, will set out on Wednesday from the Communist island on a 50-mile (80.5-km) trek to the U.S. Guantanamo Navel Base aiming to protest conditions for terrorism suspects.

The priests, nuns and academics belonging to "Witness Against Torture" apparently arrived in Cuba as tourists from a third country, breaking U.S. restrictions on travel to the Caribbean island.

The group plans to leave from eastern Santiago de Cuba and arrive at the base on Saturday, International Human Rights Day, and demand to see prisoners on a hunger strike.

=Lt. Coronel Egalberto Rivera, of the Cuban Military, explains to the group "Witness Against Torture" that the white line is the boundry where the Cuban militarized zone begins, which borders the Guantanamo Naval Base occupied by the U.S. military. Photo by Scott Langley

=I am probably the only person on this trip who would never identify themselves as a Christian. But I feel like this journey is trying to tell me something.

I can only refer to our progress as miraculous.

login or register to post comments | read more dana's thoughts dec 10

over and over again on this journey, i have been reminded of the sinester genious of my government and the suffering of thousands of people unjustly held under its rule. as we walk towards the infamous US military base at Guantanamo Bay and talk to people along the way, we reflect on the crimes taking place there--in our name, with our tax dollars and with our tacit consent. :kick: Nominated

[centristo]

26. its already being denied

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2005-12-14T104900Z_01_SCH428961_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-ELECTION-BALLOTS.xml&rpc=22

Iraq border chief denies forged ballots seized

By Mussab al-Khairalla

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The head of Iraq's border guards denied police reports on Wednesday that a tanker truck stuffed with thousands of forged ballot papers had been seized crossing into Iraq from Iran before Thursday's elections.

"This is all a lie," said Lieutenant General Ahmed al-Khafaji, the chief of the U.S.-trained force which has responsibility for all Iraq's borders.

"I heard this yesterday and I checked all the border crossings right away. The borders are all closed anyway," he told Reuters.

Iraq's frontiers are closed for the period of the election.

"I contacted all the border crossing points and there was no report of any such incident," Khafaji said.

Interior Minister Bayan Jabor also denied the reports, which the New York Times ran prominently, quoting a single unnamed Interior Ministry source, and said it was an attempt to discredit the election process.

The Times story said a tanker packed with partly filled-in ballots had been stopped by border police at the town of Badra, east of Baghdad, after entering from Iran.

The driver had told the border police that three other tankers had entered Iraq at other crossings with forged ballots, the unnamed source told the Times.

Khafaji said that when he established the reports were false he tracked the source of the rumor, and said it appeared to have come from the Defense Ministry's intelligence unit.

The ministry denied any involvement.

The reports had raised concerns that Shi'ite Iran, which has close links with two powerful Islamist Shi'ite parties in the Iraqi government, was attempting to influence the election.

[CatWoman]

27. Florida, 2000 anyone?

[wordpix2]

28. read whole article about the "progress" in Iraq

not just ballots---four killed on patrol, detainee abuse and torture, Sunni candidate killed.

I'm sure the Iraqis just HAVE to be thankful to BushCo for the "freedom" we're bringing to Iraq.:sarcasm:

[Trevelyan]

32. Show your solidarity with Witness Against Torture

http://www.witnesstorture.org/signletter

==Solidarity letter

Using the form below, please add your name to show your solidarity with Witness Against Torture.

December 4, 2005

Captain Mark M. Leary, USN
Commander, U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay
and Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay
U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Public Affairs Office
PSC 1005, Box 25
FPO, AE 09593-0025

[Momgonepostal]

29. With the Bushies in charge, this should surprise no one nt

[Che_Nuevara]

30. Am I the only one morbidly entertaining the idea

that they might actually be REAL ballots that are primarily for radical / non-US-sympathetic candidates?

I mean, WE seized them. The Iraqis did not, and claim there are no fake ballots.

[Barrett808]

33. Reuters: Iraq border chief denies forged ballots seized

Iraq border chief denies forged ballots seized
By Mussab al-Khairalla
Wed Dec 14, 5:42 AM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The head of Iraq's border guards denied police reports on Wednesday that a tanker truck stuffed with thousands of forged ballot papers had been seized crossing into Iraq from Iran before Thursday's elections.

"This is all a lie," said Lieutenant General Ahmed al-Khafaji, the chief of the U.S.-trained force which has responsibility for all Iraq's borders.

"I heard this yesterday and I checked all the border crossings right away. The borders are all closed anyway," he told Reuters.

Iraq's frontiers are closed for the period of the election.

"I contacted all the border crossing points and there was no report of any such incident," Khafaji said.

Interior Minister Bayan Jabor also denied the reports, which the New York Times ran prominently, quoting a single unnamed Interior Ministry source, and said it was an attempt to discredit the election process.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051214/wl_nm/iraq_election_ballots_dc