 Voters trickled into polling stations under tight security Sunday in Iraq, casting ballots despite promises by insurgents to sabotage the country's first free election in a half-century. Poll workers checked identifications at schools and other buildings serving as polling stations. Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawer was one of the first to vote at election headquarters in the heavily fortified Green Zone, calling the action his country's first step "toward joining the free world." As poll workers watched, he marked two ballots - one for the 275-member National Assembly and the other for provincial legislatures - and then dropped them into boxes. A poll worker handed him an Iraqi flag as he left. "I'm very proud and happy this morning," al-Yawher told reporters. "I congratulate all the Iraqi people and call them to vote for Iraq."| This is a great moment in Iraq. Neither the Iraqis nor we will ever get the credit both deserve. |
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