Posted on 12/11/2005 2:34:44 PM PST by chiller
FALLUJA/RAMADI Iraq (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein loyalists who violently opposed January elections have made an about-face as Thursday's polls near, urging fellow Sunni Arabs to vote and warning al Qaeda militants not to attack. In a move unthinkable in the bloody run-up to the last election, guerrillas in the western insurgent heartland of Anbar province say they are even prepared to protect voting stations from fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.
Graffiti calling for holy war is now hard to find.
Instead, election campaign posters dominate buildings in the rebel strongholds of Ramadi and nearby Falluja, where Sunnis staged a boycott or were too scared to vote last time around.
"We want to see a nationalist government that will have a balance of interests. So our Sunni brothers will be safe when they vote," said Falluja resident Ali Mahmoud, a former army officer and rocket specialist under Saddam's Baath party.
"Sunnis should vote to make political gains. We have sent leaflets telling al Qaeda that they will face us if they attack voters."
The shift is encouraging for Washington, which hopes to draw Sunni Arabs into peaceful politics in order to defuse the insurgency.
The Baathist warning to al Qaeda raises the possibility of a wider rift between secular Saddam loyalists and fundamentalist militants, who have been cooperating in their efforts to drive out U.S. forces.
But it is far too early to suggest any breakthroughs will ease insurgent violence that has killed thousands.
Some insurgent leaders appear to be setting conditions for Sunni voters, who will choose from among 231 political parties and coalitions for a parliament that will appoint the first full-term government in postwar Iraq.
Not around DNC headquarters
Wow ! It's chilling to see seeds of democracy sprout. I sense the Iraqi's are really jacked about it. Very exciting.
Ho! Bulls Eye!
But Howard Dean told me that we can't win this War.
They tried to damage the process, but now see it's impossible to stop, so they've might as well get out in front. ????
A friend of mine is headed back to Iraq today/tonight, after 10 days R&R. He said the elections are really something, with the people lining up for miles, braving threats, risking their lives and their families lives, and then being so proud of their purple fingers. It really is a badge of honor for them.
I wonder if the name "George" will replace the name mohamm, well you get the point, among the locals in years to come?
Wow- check this out, I found a page 2 to this article and it says-
""Zarqawi is an American, Israeli and Iranian agent who is trying to keep our country unstable so that the Sunnis will keep facing occupation," said a Baathist insurgent leader who would give his name only as Abu Abdullah."
I do have a question- this statement was made by someone named Abu Abdullah. How many Abu Abdullah's live in Iraq? I swear, every single article I read- Abu Abdullah is quoted.
Someone just lost their Christmas, er I mean, holiday bonus.
Goose bumps on my body !
That isn't his name he just said it so as not to put a target on his back.
saying your name is Abu Abdullah is like saying your name is John Smith in the US.
Apparently they don't think too highly of Dean either.
Isn't Muhammad the most common name in the world?
I just got chills reading this. Incredible. The seed of democracy has been planted, now it is actually growing. It's just so heartening to hear and see. When people dare to dream for and work for freedom, it's amazing how minds and lives can be changed.
Stunning.
Here's hoping that tomorrow shows the libs in this country and the rest of the world that freedom, is indeed precious and like our brave men and women who serve, worth dying for.
Might be.
Not bad work for the eeeevvviillll, imperialist America. Libs can STFU.
Great news! They finally realize that they should work within the process, because attacks on it aren't going to stop it - if they want a seat at the table, they're going to have to win it through the election, not kill for it.
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