Pravailing in Iraq
...n Left Weekly “during the polling there were reports of intimidation and the voting process was riddled with evidence of possible fraud” (Pearce, Green Left Weekly). Many Iraqis were #threatened with consequences such as execution. If this is true then the Iraqi elections should not be considered a victory, because the rejection of the anti-democratic beliefs is not threatening the presence of terrorists. If anything it seems to be making them worst as they are attempting to prevent the elections in Iraq. In the article entitled “Iraq: Have the elections saved the occupation?”, Pearce brings up a similar situation that occurred in Vietnam in 1967. He points out that 83 percent of the registered voters cast their ballots despite the threats from the Vietcong. The voting was considered a success until the last U.S. soldiers pulled out of Saigon, only to allow the Vietnamese forces to move in which eventually led to a historical defeat for U. S. imperialism. Even though the Iraqi forces lack the unified and socialist leadership qualities that the Vietnamese possessed, numerous Americans still believe that Bush should pull out the American Troops and concentrate on the United States and terrorism instead of Iraq before thing s get out of hand. Many believe that Iraq’s free election should heighten pressure on the other Arab countries and possibly initiate political restructuring and free voting. Numerous Americans agree with President Bush’s plan to spread democracy throughout the Middle East in hopes of one day ending tyranny. Nelson Carman, who lost his twenty year old son in the war in Iraq last April, said that the positive turnout of the Iraqi elections “put a big stamp of approval on President Bush’s mission” (Goodnough, New York Times). He continues by saying that “the election helped him believe that his son and other American soldiers had not died in vain” (Goodnough, New York Times). President Bush and many #Americans believe that the Iraqi vote was a huge success and a blow against terrorism. Other Americans disagree, Mr. Shackleford for example states “I still think it’s going to be a problem over there...