Someone Please Tell Me! Is It OK For US Military to Help in Elections??

[leftchick]

U.S. Marines distribute election flyers to residents of the Al Anbar province in western Iraq (news - web sites), January 28, 2005. Insurgents bent on wrecking Sunday's election in Iraq killed 10 Iraqis and five U.S. troops on Friday. The government imposed extraordinary security restrictions to try to safeguard the polls. Land borders were closed and travel between provinces was banned. An extended curfew was imposed in most cities from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. (1600-0300 GMT). REUTERS/Erik de Castro


In addition, Iraqis will be voting at a US military base in Fallujah and have been handling ballots, etc. throughout Iraq! Is this legit?

[mdhunter]

1. Handing out "Vote Allawi! Vote Iraq!" flyers I'm sure.

They've been ferrying him around to campaign stops too.

* On edit - "campaign" stops.*

[cali]

2. Nothing about this election is legit

Ballots with over 100 different parties and few named candidates, lack of security in central and northern parts of the country, no election monitors, etc, etc. This is just one more item in the long list of illegitimacies.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[Goathead]

6. Quite right

However before the entire world wasn't watching our rigged elections prop up our own puppet regime. The outcome will be very interesting. Needless to say, even if the entire world recognizes the elections as fixed, even if hundreds of people die trying to vote and the election is a total disaster, the Bush administration will proclaim this as a victory for democracy.

[txaslftist]

4. Only so long as our picked candidate wins.

[mrbassman03]

5. It doesn't even matter if the election is legit...

As long as BushCo can show pictures of Iraqis at the polls, that's all they need. They will puff around going, ooooh look at us... we are spreading democracy, isn't the US grand??? Allawi will win, and have "control" (if you don't count Bush's hand up his ass) over Iraq.

[sweetheart]

7. You mean like they helped in florida 2000

sending in illegal ballots postmarked after the election to throw one
for the criminal?... uuuhhhh... no.

[leftchick]

8. I don't mean to sound naive here...

I KNOW we have rigged elections in the US. My point is that there has to be at the very least a Military code for Non US interference in foreign elections.

[sweetheart]

9. Certainly it would scare me away from voting

Why vote to risk your life.... in iraq, to stand anywhere near a
US soldier, to be seen near a polling place could very well be a death
warrant. Why do that? They interfere as they are there, and risk
civilians by being there.... there should be blue helmets there that
the voters not be targets. The election must go forward, but it is
a sham as well.

[leftchick]

10. Here iare US Marines putting up iraqi Election posters...

Has the US done this in Other countries?

:shrug: