An Exciting Week For Iraq- Voting is Fun!

Iraqi Exiles Cast First Votes in Election

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Iraqis abroad cast the first ballots in their country's election on Tuesday, two days before their compatriots vote for postwar Iraq's first full-term parliament.

From Australia through the Middle East to the United States, 557 polling stations opened in 15 countries where more than one million Iraqis were eligible to vote abroad.

Organizers expect a higher turnout over three days of voting than in a January 30 poll for an interim assembly when only a quarter of eligible Iraqis cast ballots abroad."

In Baghdad, Iraqis Talk Ballot Box Not Holy War

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - "Graffiti in west Baghdad's rebel Aadhamiya district calls for holy war, not elections, but the mood there and on streets across the city was the opposite on the eve of Thursday's parliamentary poll."

For even more perspective, compare Iraq today to the latest reports concerning neighboring Iran.

"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad escalated his anti-Israeli rhetoric Wednesday, calling the Holocaust a "myth".

He also provoked an international outcry in October when he called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

"I assure you that we won't step back one inch from our nuclear rights," the president told the crowd, drawing chants of "Death to America!"

Ahmadinejad has been unapologetic about taking Iran on a more openly defiant course, insisting on Iran's right to develop its nuclear program — which it insists is peaceful — and often using rhetoric reminiscent of the 1980s heyday of the Islamic Revolution.

In Brussels, Belgium, European Commission spokeswoman Emma Udwin said the president's comments were "completely unacceptable."

"We feel very strongly that Iran is damaging its own interests with these kind of remarks," she said."

Ya think? But he's just keepin' it real and tellin' it like it is (according to Iran, anyhow). It's certainly better to know Iran's true intent than to not.

Can anyone tell me again why regime change and democracy in the case of a terrorist state that absolutely refuses to behave is such a bad idea?

Update I: A shiny quote from an Iraqi citizen found over at 45-Caliber Justice.

“Anybody who doesn’t appreciate what America has done and President Bush, let them go to hell”

– Iraqi Citizen, voter Betty Dawisha

Update II: Visit Peakah's for Continuous Updates on Iraqi Elections.