unforgettable

My good friend Peter Gornell sent along a link to this large gallery of images from the Iraq elections. Be forewarned: the first few are unpleasant viewing. But some of the rest are unforgettable.

Like this one.

More: The price paid.

The Vote is Mighter than the Sword

From the Washington Post

Even in the Wake of Suicide Blast, 'They Didn't Want to Go Back Home'

By Karl Vick
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, January 31, 2005; Page A01

BAGHDAD, Jan. 30 -- The young man wore a winter jacket over his explosive vest and approached the polling station with his hands in the pockets.

"Take your hands out of your pockets," said Ali Jabur, the Iraqi police officer in charge of patting down voters on the street outside. The young man obliged by throwing his arms wide, and blew them both to bits.

Three hours later, in streets still littered with the bomber's remains, some very determined voters streamed into the Badr Kobra High School for Girls, intent on casting the ballots that they called a repudiation of the terrorist attacks meant to scare them away.

The story continues...

Though performing this duty meant standing amid flecks of the flesh of the last officer who had the job, there were volunteers. In stepping forward to do the first round of pat-downs themselves, local residents explained that they could raise the alert if another suspicious stranger approached.

"The police might not be able to recognize residents; we know them better," said Zaid Abdulhamid, an electronics merchant. He was stationed at the head of an alley blocked by the trunk of a date palm, the all-purpose roadblock in Iraq. The Arabic words spray-painted on the surrounding walls read: "No to America. No to occupation" and "Death to anyone who hates Iraq."

"We want to protect ourselves," Abdulhamid said.

And so, after about an hour, voting resumed.

Clearly Iraqis disagree with Abu Musab Zarqawi who said,

We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who follow this wrong ideology. Anyone who tries to help set up this system is part of it. [Iraqi candidates] are demi-idols, and [voters] are infidels.

Though the terrorist Zarqawi will not stop his violence, he has been delt a blow that could only be delivered by the will of the Iraqi people.

Tom Bombadil
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