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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Foreign Election Team To Monitor Iraqi Election --- From Jordan |
| 2004-12-23 |
| This may fit the thanks for nothing category. Representatives of seven nations met in Ottawa this week to recruit international observers for the Iraqi elections and agreed to watch the vote, but from the safety of Amman, Jordan. They said it was too dangerous to monitor the voting in Iraq, meaning international observers are unlikely for the elections on Jan. 30 - making them the first significant vote of this sort recently with no foreign presence, United Nations officials say. The United Nations, the European Union and many nongovernmental groups involved in election and democracy projects are helping to organize and administer the vote. As a result, they argue, acting as monitors would be a conflict of interest. The United States, a senior State Department official said, "will have as low a profile as possible during the election." Specialists and officials involved in foreign elections say international monitors are a crucial tool for ensuring that difficult elections are seen as free and fair, as shown recently in Afghanistan and Ukraine. Foreign observers in Afghanistan diffused the controversy over the ink used on some ballots; some candidates had said the ink used for fingerprints could easily be removed. Foreign observers in Ukraine, including Senator Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, countered the government's contention that its candidate had won the election, despite widespread fraud. When Canada agreed early this month to convene a group of nations - Canada, Britain, Indonesia, Mexico, Panama, Albania and Yemen - to examine the question of observing the elections, officials in Washington and at the United Nations were hopeful that the impasse on recruiting international monitors might finally be broken. |
| Posted by:Capt America |
| #12 It wouldn't be too difficult a question to ask of these "brave" countries: If it was a completely secure country, would there be any need at all for them to get involved? |
| Posted by: Capt America 2004-12-23 4:12:01 PM |
| #11 Lex -- the link reads NY Slimes |
| Posted by: Capt America 2004-12-23 4:09:34 PM |
| #10 Election observers from Mexico and Yemen: is this from Scrappleface? |
| Posted by: lex 2004-12-23 2:25:27 PM |
#9 They said it was too dangerous to monitor the voting in IraqBut the Iraqi people - like the Afghans - seem to think it's not too dangerous to vote (or more likely intend to vote in spite of the danger - just like the Afghans). I've got a suggestion for those international "observers": FOAD, you useless wussies. And take Dhimmi Carter with you. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-12-23 1:38:42 PM |
| #8 No problem, SPoD. I use a remote to switch Satellite channels all the time. |
| Posted by: jackal 2004-12-23 11:12:24 AM |
| #7 They are going to monitor the satelite TV channels? I don't see how this can be done remotely. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-12-23 6:51:05 AM |
| #6 That's cause from Jordan you can monitor the communications between Zionists and their Iraqi puppets. |
| Posted by: gromgorru 2004-12-23 6:46:39 AM |
| #5 So, does Jordan have cable TV and at least one 5-Star hotel? |
| Posted by: .com 2004-12-23 3:11:54 AM |
| #4 Don't worry, Mojo, they'll have no problem at all deciding who won, who committed fraud and whether we should accept the results. Nope, no problem at all, nope, nope. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-12-23 1:33:44 AM |
| #3 Easy. If the winner is someone who actually cares about the people these folks will claim voter intimidation and fraudulent counting. |
| Posted by: Korora 2004-12-23 12:48:43 AM |
| #2 How the hell do they expect to monitor anything from the next country over? Binoculars? |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-12-23 12:46:28 AM |
| #1 Representatives of seven nations met in Ottawa this week to recruit international observers for the Iraqi elections and agreed to watch the vote, but from the safety of Amman, Jordan. Sounds suspiciously like a Jimmy Carter-esque arrangement... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-12-23 12:44:41 AM |