Free Republic

Well, that old Iraqi quagmire just keeps getting worse and worse, if only for the Democratic Party. What was the straw they were clutching at back in January? Oh, yeah, sure, gazillions of Kurds and Shiites might have gone to the polls, but where were the Sunni? As some of us said at the time, the Sunni'll come out tomorrow. And so they did. On Thursday, they voted in record numbers, leaving Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats frantically scrambling for another disaffected Iraqi minority group they could use as proof that the whole crazy...

You were hard-pressed to find the story or to see the images anywhere in the mainstream media – three unarmed Iraqi election officials recently murdered in cold blood on their way to work – dragged from their car and shot in the head, execution style, by spineless terrorists – the entire massacre caught on film. Their crime? – Helping to further the cause of a free and democratic Iraq. Since the end of major combat operations, hundreds upon hundreds of innocent Iraqi men women and children have been deliberately targeted and blown limb from limb by foreign invaders – by...

Chaldean Archbishop Sees Hope in Elections KIRKUK, Iraq, NOV. 18, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk criticized Western media "misinformation" about his country and insisted that Iraqis are looking forward to elections "because they will be useful for national unity." "It is not all death and destruction," explained Archbishop Louis Sako in an interview Tuesday published by AsiaNews. "Much is positive in Iraq today," he said. "Universities are operating, schools are open, people go out onto the streets normally." He did acknowledge that "where there's a kidnapping or a homicide the news gets out immediately, and this causes fear...

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Opposition leaders claimed that ruling-party militants harassed and frightened voters trying to cast ballots during elections held in two Zimbabwe townships. In an atmosphere thick with political tensions, Maxwell Zimuto, a spokesman with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said government trucks ferried ruling party militants around the two townships, both opposition strongholds. Zimuto said militants, beating drums and waving clubs, blockaded entrances to some polling stations to frighten voters away. "They said the election was over and warned people to go home. This was two hours before polling ended," Zimuto said. Militants with President Robert Mugabe's...

September 12, 200211th CIRCUIT UPHOLDS GEORGIA LAWPANEL RUSHES DECISION IN 6 DAYS; IGNORES ALL EVIDENCE On September 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th circuit, released its decision in Cartwright v Barnes, 02-10670, upholding Georgia ballot access for minor party candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives.The decision was released six days after the oral argument. There was no reason for the rush; usually decisions take from two to six months, unless there is an emergency.The decision is only two pages. However, even two pages is enough to show that the panel didn't even know what the Georgia law is....

Without major steps by Cuba to open up its political system and its economic system, trade with Cuba will not help the Cuban people. It will merely enrich Castro and his cronies and prop up the dictatorship.'' WASHINGTON - In a major policy statement this morning, President Bush will announce several steps to ease the hardships faced daily by Cubans and shore up administration efforts to break Fidel Castro's 40-year hold on the island. Among the measures: o Offering scholarships for study in the United States to family members of political prisoners and to Cuban students and professionals trying...