Iraq Election - January 2005

Here are some images from the election, which I will say again was extraordinary. I'm hoping these photos will be somewhat different than those you've seen.


Much of the reason the election was a success was due to long planning meetings between the Iraqi Police, National Guard and Army, and US forces. Here the Col. goes over a breakdown of neighborhoods in western Baghdad asking which group and how many individuals will be where.


At night soldiers patrolled neighborhoods with their high tech night vision lenses.


The day before the elections people were celebrating their choice of candidates.


Voting started out slowly then picked up by mid morning and stayed consistence all day long.


Shortly after 8 a.m. the first suicide bomber hit outside a polling station.


The image above was quickly replaced by this most amazing sight: hundreds of people, some barefoot, walking 20 kilometers to a polling station.


Some were singing and dancing...


One man carried a dove of peace.


"Our older people behind us," said one man. "They are slower but they are coming."


Apparently the first person to vote was a woman.


This Sunni woman explains the ballot to her 80-year-old father, a former General in Saddam Hussein's army.


Some thought that the black ink used to identify a voter would be a mark of death. Instead, people were proud to show it. All day and for days following, people would raise their blackened fingers and smile.


After voting was completed the ballots were taken in vehicles like this groovy schoolbus to a big warehouse to be counted.


Col.Mohammed, head of the Iraqi National Guard 303 Battalion, congratulates his men after the election.


But the battalion was not unscathed. Here a man mournes the loss of a fellow guard.


There were lots of celebrations following the election. This one for Col. -- now General -- Mohammed's promotion. In the back of the room (in this blurred image) are the minister if defense and Col. Faisal who also gave troops for the election.


Col. Faisal also wanted to celebrate, this time to honor his friendship with the US Col and the successful completion of the elections. We took a raincheck on dinner.


There have been almost 1400 U.S. soldiers killed so far in this war and more than 10,000 wounded, not to mention thousands of Iraqis. Each man killed is a husband, a father, a son and a dear friend.


Anyone who supports this war should have to attend each and every one of these ceremonies, this one for two young men were killed by IEDs.


Platoon members share a last goodbye.


One can only hope that sometime in the future, the killing, the violence, the struggle for basic amenities and lack of employment will come to end, and Iraqis like Sa'arah and her two brothers can live in peace.