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| Iraq |
| Baathists warn al-Qaeda against attacking Iraqi vote |
| 2005-12-12 |
| Loyalists of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein who violently opposed January elections have made an about-face as the polls near, urging fellow Sunni Arabs to vote and warning al-Qaeda militants not to attack. In a move unthinkable in the bloody run-up to the last election, guerrillas in the western insurgent heartland of Anbar Province say they are even prepared to protect voting stations from fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Graffiti calling for holy war is now hard to find. Instead, election campaign posters dominate buildings in the rebel strongholds of Ramadi and nearby Fallujah, where Sunnis staged a boycott or were too scared to vote last time around. "We want to see a nationalist government that will have a balance of interests. So our Sunni brothers will be safe when they vote," said Fallujah resident Ali Mahmoud, a former army officer and rocket specialist under Saddam's Baath party. "Sunnis should vote to make political gains. We have sent leaflets telling al-Qaeda that they will face us if they attack voters," he said. The Iraqi government announced yesterday it will close all borders, extend curfew hours and ban travel across provincial borders as part of stringent security measures to protect voters during this week's elections. Meanwhile, assailants blew up an electoral center yesterday in a town 20km south of Samarra and opened fire on a Turkoman political party office in Mosul, wounding three people, police said. In Najaf, the country's leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged followers to turn out in large numbers for the Thursday balloting, in which voters will choose a 275-member parliament to serve a full four-year term. But al-Sistani stopped short of openly endorsing the coalition of religious Shiite parties which swept the largest number of seats in the January election. The Interior Ministry said the emergency measures will take effect early tomorrow and last until Saturday morning. The nighttime curfew will be extended by three hours, all international borders and airports will be closed and travel across provincial boundaries will be banned. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 and that's all that everyone but DeanPelosiKennedySorosMurthaMSMLLL want. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2005-12-12 14:35 |
| #1 "Of course, if they want to launch attack against the Shiite polling stations, feel free." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-12-12 09:40 |