January 30, 2005
Terrorists within Iraq threatened to harm those who voted in today's election:
In hopes of discouraging Iraqis from voting in Sunday's election — 21 months after Saddam Hussein's downfall in April 2003 — insurgents have accelerated attacks, sending a message that if Iraqis suffer deaths and injuries on election day, "you have only yourselves to blame."They made good on those threats, although only on a very small scale, with 23 innocents murdered by 8 homicide bombers.
Turnout is estimated at 72%, an incredible number when you consider that each polling place was a target of potential car and explosive vest bombers. Yet, there is another danger to voters, which has been glossed over in the media reports. Each voter was marked with indelible ink to ensure that no one was able to vote more than once. Thus every single Iraqi who voted today is visibly marked, like this young woman:
