Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- "It is an accomplishment for all Iraqis," Independent Electoral Commission spokesman Farid Ayar said today at a news conference in the capital, Baghdad, aired live by international broadcasters. "It's a civilized step that puts Iraq on the path to democracy, to rebuilding our new Iraq."
Almost 79 percent of Iraqi voters approved the charter, the commission said after the news conference in a statement in which it gave specifics of the vote. The proposal was passed in an Oct. 15 national referendum after opponents failed to muster a two-thirds majority in three of the country's 18 provinces, as required to defeat the measure.
...Voter turnout in the referendum was about 63 percent. About 1 million more people participated than in the Jan. 30 election that created a temporary national assembly, according to a statement e-mailed by the election commission. In the January vote, about 8 million turned out.
The largest increases in turnout in this month's vote were in areas populated mainly by Sunnis, some of whose leaders opposed the charter.
...Ayar said the commission and UN officials investigated allegations of irregularities with the referendum vote and found nothing that would invalidate the results.
President George W. Bush welcomes Massoud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan regional government of Iraq, to the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005.
Yesterday, President Bush met President Barzani of the Kurdistan regional government of Iraq at the White House.
PRESIDENT BARZANI: (As translated.) Mr. President, allow me on behalf of the people of Kurdistan and myself to thank you, very much. We in Kurdistan, particularly, and also in Iraq, generally, we highly value the courage and bravery of your leadership. I hope that everybody would realize what the fact on the ground is about Iraq. It was a brave decision that you have made -- you have liberated a people from a dictatorial regime that has hurt a lot of the people.
At this time we express our condolences and we express our sympathy to the families of your brave men and women in uniform, those who have sacrificed their lives in order to make other people free and liberated. There is no doubt that if we step back from this and not be determined, be rest assured that the terrorists will come to the gates of you and us and they will fight us. Therefore, we have to think about nothing else but victory. And I'm quite confident that with your leadership, with your support and support of the United States military and United States people, and also the -- heroes of the people of Iraq, in general, the people of Kurdistan, we will achieve success at the end.
For those who are anti-democratic and also those who are against the process, they are very limited; and those who are supportive of your leadership, supportive of democratic process, they are many, and they highly appreciate the sacrifices that have been made by the American people and the American army. There are also many in Iraq, in general, and also in Kurdistan, all of them are appreciative.
To be sure, as Scott McClellan said, "It's a landmark day in the history of Iraq."
As Barzani so poignantly pointed out, this achievement came at a tremendously high price.
He said, "At this time we express our condolences and we express our sympathy to the families of your brave men and women in uniform, those who have sacrificed their lives in order to make other people free and liberated."
Barzani appreciates the gift that our troops gave to his people. He acknowledges the significance of their sacrifice with sympathy and gratitude.
On the same day that it was announced that Iraqis approved a constitution, the American death toll from the war in Iraq hit 2000.The spokesman for the American-led multinational force, Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, had a message for news organizations planning to focus on what they consider to be a milestone in the war.
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- "I ask that when you report on the events, take a moment to think about the effects on the families and those serving in Iraq," Boylan said in an e-mail. "The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives."
Boylan said the 2,000th service member to die in Iraq "is just as important as the first that died and will be just as important as the last to die in this war against terrorism and to ensure freedom for a people who have not known freedom in over two generations."
He complained that the true milestones of the war were "rarely covered or discussed," and said they included the troops who had volunteered to serve, the families of those that have been deployed for a year or more, and the Iraqis who have sought at great risk to restore normalcy to their country.
Boylan said they included Iraqis who sought to join the security forces and had became daily targets for insurgent attacks at recruiting centers, those who turned out to vote in the constitutional referendum, and those who chose to risk their lives by joining the government.
"Celebrate the daily milestones, the accomplishments they have secured and look to the future of a free and democratic Iraq and to the day that all of our troops return home to the heroes welcome they deserve," Boylan wrote.
Disgracefully, there are those, the usual suspects, that are exploiting the 2000 deaths to pursue their personal political ends.
MoveOn has an ad campaign to mark the occasion. Obviously, they've been waiting for the day the death toll climbed to 2000.
They're actually using the deaths of our troops to raise funds.
Today, we received grim news: 2000 American soldiers have now died in Iraq. Their caskets have been hidden from view, and the news of their deaths has receded to the back pages. But the men and women who died in recent days were no less brave or less honorable than those who died in the first days of the war. It's time for us to honor them—to remind the public that they're dying every day in the quagmire of Iraq—and ask, "How many more?" Can you help put this ad on the air?
View the Ad.
Similarly, the DNC attempts to capitalize on the American dead. Its website splashes:
BUSH IGNORES 2,000th US FATALITY IN IRAQ
The DNC and its Chairman Howard Dean don't hesitate to shamefully politicize the deaths. Dean released this statement:
"Today, our nation marks one of the saddest days of the war in Iraq, the loss of the 2,000th American soldier there. Each soldier lost on the battlefield leaves behind a family forever marked by tragedy, and scarred with grief. Their loss weighs heavily on the heart of every single American. Today, we are united in reflecting on the suffering and sacrifice of the brave men and women in uniform and their families.
"Sadly, in delivering yet another speech about the war in Iraq that lacked a clear plan for victory, President Bush failed to mention the tragic milestone we mark today. This is not the type of leadership that the brave men and women serving in Iraq and their loved ones here at home expect or deserve from the Commander in Chief. Now, even though we have lost 2,000 servicemen and women and spent more than $218 billion over the last two years, just 800 Iraqi troops have been fully trained. The need for a clear plan for victory in Iraq cound not be more apparent.
"Democrats believe Americans, particularly Americans serving our nation in the armed forces, deserve leaders who honor their sacrifice by making sure that our armed forces are never sent to war without a clear plan for victory and without the resources to carry out that strategy. That is why Democrats are unwavering in our commitment to pressing President Bush for a clear plan for victory in Iraq. We will honor the service and sacrifices of our soldiers by continuing that effort."
This truly disgusts me. Rather than honoring our fallen troops and their families with a dignified statement, Dean bashes Bush, trying to score political points off of the deaths of our troops.
It disgusts me, but it doesn't surprise me. Nothing Dean says or does is capable of shocking me anymore. I always expect the worst from him and he always delivers.
Naturally, Al Jazeera echoes the Dem party line.
Al Jazeera writes:
On Tuesday, he warned the war in Iraq "will require more sacrifice" and ruled out any early withdrawal of US troops.
"This war will require more sacrifice, more time and more resolve," he said in remarks at Bolling Air Force Base. "The best way to honour the sacrifice of our fallen heroes is to complete the mission." "In Iraq, there is no peace without victory. We will keep our nerve and we will win that victory"
Early this month he rapped "self-defeating" commentators who had begun to suggest the US should withdraw its 140,000 troops.
"In Iraq, there is no peace without victory. We will keep our nerve and we will win that victory," Bush vowed.
White House press aides then choreographed a chat with US and Iraqi troops in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, the high point coming when an Iraqi sergeant grabbed a microphone and gushed: "Thank you very much for everything. I like you!"
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice steadfastly refuses to say when troops might be pulled out, stressing they were in Iraq to wipe out the "malignant" influence of Islamic extremism in the Middle East.
Bush led the nation into war saying that Saddam had developed weapons of mass destruction and had links to al-Qaida, with the first claim having been proved false and the second remaining unproven.
Al Jazeera has really become indistinguishable from the U.S. mainstream media. Apparently, Dean must have a direct line of communication with the outlet, sending the Dem talking points to them so they can infest a wider audience with anti-Americanism.
As Lt. Col. Boylan said, each life lost is tragic. The 2000th service member to die is "just as important as the first that died and will be just as important as the last to die in this war against terrorism and to ensure freedom for a people who have not known freedom in over two generations."
The Left see 2000 as an opportunity. They did the same thing when the death toll reached 1000. They exploited the number, turning a soldier's sacrifice into a political abuse.
Boylan is right. It's "an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives."
Every single service member who has died in the war should be honored. We should recognize the sacrifice and suffering of their families every day.
Recognizing the 2000 mark is just a sleazy political move, part of an orchestrated campaign.
Why did Dr. Dean feel the need to issue a statement on the 2000th death and not 562 or 1745 or at the death of every American service member? Were those lives of less value?
One might think so, if one only thinks in political terms.
A single death is a tragedy, two thousand deaths is a statistic.Clearly, the Left is shamefully exploiting a statistic.
I think we should remember each tragedy and reflect on each sacrifice.
Read about Brian Paul Montgomery. He is a son, a brother, a husband, a father, and a hero; not a statistic.
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