Iraqis Urged To Vote Despite Rebel Attacks

[MADem]

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The government on Sunday urged Iraqis to vote in next week's constitutional referendum, condemning insurgent groups for demanding a boycott and for killing hundreds of civilians to wreck the ballot.

The U.S. military also announced the death of another Marine during one of two offensives currently occuring in western Iraq aimed at rooting out insurgents from ahead of Saturday's vote. The Marine was killed by a roadside bomb in Ramadi, where about 500 U.S. and 400 Iraqi troops were conducting Operation Mountaineer, the military said.

Sunni-led insurgent groups are trying to reduce voter turnout with a wave of attacks, killing at least 312 people in suicide bombings, drive-by shootings and assassinations....The referendum has divided Iraqis, with leaders of the Shiite Muslim majority and Kurds supporting the constitution and Sunni Arabs opposing it, saying it will fragment Iraq.

...Sunnis can defeat the charter with a two-thirds "no" vote in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces. The Sunnis have a majority in four provinces..... http://www.nbc5.com/news/5075733/detail.html

Expect the violence to get WORSE in the run up to the charter vote. I am anticipating that the days ahead are going to be very, very ugly.

[enigma000]

1. I imagine coalition and Iraqi gov't security forces

will be out in full force. Wonder what the results will be.

[MADem]

2. Last night, there was a post about quartering US troops in masjids

in those restive areas. I will bet they will have forces arrayed around every polling place. Of course, they'll do the usual curfews, limits on number of folks who can walk together, no vehicle traffic, and so on.

Unfortunately, in some towns, the police are staging their equivalent of blue flu, and who knows how reliable the Iraqi military forces will be. So it will be all on our kids, most of whom can't speak much arabic, if any...