Iraq Elections May Be Over 15 Months Away

[Flagg]

Iraq Elections May Be Over 15 Months Away
11 minutes ago Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo!


By CHRIS BRUMMITT, Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer says it could take more than 15 months to hold elections in Iraq (news - web sites) — a much longer timeframe than the country's Shiite Muslim clergy and some political leaders seem prepared to accept.





Bremer told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television station that it could take "a year or 15 months and may take longer" to arrange an election. The remarks were made Friday and broadcast Saturday.


In his remarks, made in English and translated by the station, Bremer cited the absence of electoral laws and voter rolls as the main obstacles to a speedy vote.


Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, demanded elections to choose a legislature before the planned June 30 transfer of power from the U.S.-led coalition to the Iraqis.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040221/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=514&ncid=514

[Flagg]

1. The Shiite are gonna be so pissed

[sampsonblk]

2. Well...they shoulda seen this Shiite coming!

Huge undertaking, IMHO. Bremer was trying to force them to have an "election" before our own. Without the UN it would have been a sham. And WITH the UN, it will have to be done right. Since we can't just pull out, the only thing to do is... Anybody got a time machine???

[flamingpie2500]

3. Bush & Co. don't want free elections yet--

What would happen to Halliburton? If free elections are held and the gov't says the U.S. has to leave we HAVE to leave. Why would we want to give up this war for oil before we can milk it for what it is worth.

[underpants]

4. "I guess it's not so easy taking over a whole country"

My favorite quote from a Marine via an embedded reporter. THe Marine was reading a book and never looked directly at the camera....and then sort of laughed to himself.

[flamingpie2500]

5. Here is another funny quote I just read--

<<"We need to have a definite date," said Mowaffak al-Rubaie, a Shiite Arab and another member of the interim council. "Power must be handed over to a body that is impartial in order to be able to make a decision that will provide continuity. We can't do it the American way like when George W. Bush replaced Bill Clinton the whole system changed and we cannot have this." >>

You said it Pal!

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Didn't Saddam hold elections

just be we invaded?

Not that it was a fair and free election, heck we don't even have that is America anymore, but it means that the mechanism to hold even a bogus election was in place before we went in an destroyed everything. If Saddam could do it, why can't we?

Wasn't that what this whole invasion about? Give Iraq back to the Iraqi people. Letting them have their oil so they could rebuild their country. So what if we don't like what they do with the country once we give it back. Isn't that what democracy is all about?

[leftchick]

7. There will be a LOT more dead soldiers.....

and Muricans won't know because of the "handover" of power in June. Cnn, MSRNC,etc. will no loner report what is going on in Iraq because we have handed over the keys. They will only televise bush* campaign bullshit.... :grr: