“Occupation of Iraq” on The Daily Caller

The March 7 national elections have left Iraq divided. Final results are expected today and the political jockeying is in full swing. (more)

Baghdad (AP) — With the complete results in Iraq’s election just days away, there were signs Monday the two front runners were reaching out to other political parties, signaling the start of the jockeying to form the next ruling coalition. (more)

Today marks the 7th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War and it’s quite remarkable to see just how far this country has come. In looking at the preliminary election results it’s hard not to reflect on the 2000 presidential election in the United States. It’s close and the votes are still being tallied. At one point this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki trailed his closest contender, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. Now, with al-Maliki back in the lead, some 40,000 votes separate their coalitions out of 83 percent counted. He is fighting for his political life. (more)

Iraq’s Political Stalemate: Democracy’s Endgame? (more)

It has been nearly a week since Iraqis stepped into the ballot box and made history once again. Even some Western experts who predicted a 55 percent-60 percent turnout were surprised when the election commission announced that 62 percent of Iraq voted. Partial results released Thursday evening from five of Iraq’s 18 provinces showed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with a slight lead. Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was doing well in Sunni areas north and west. (more)

The events of Election Day in Iraq were truly breathtaking. Despite repeated attacks around the country by the enemy that killed some 35 people to frighten Iraqis away from the polls, their perseverance showed. Miguel Marquez of ABC News summed it up this way: “Iraqis are really tough.” Walid Abid, a 40-year-old father of two, spoke as mortars landed several hundreds yards away from his polling station. “I am not scared and I am not going to stay put at home. Until when? We need to change things. If I stay home and not come to vote, it will get worse.” Another voter, Maliq Bedawi, said, “Iraqi people are not afraid of bombs any more. We took our children with us.” (more)

The relative stability in Iraq over the past two years has deceived many to conclude that Iraq will eventually sort itself out. Such complacency will unwittingly contribute to greater turmoil. Whatever progress has been achieved is modest at best and far from irreversible. U.S. engagement at all levels remains indispensable to Iraq’s future and broader regional security. (more)

As voting begins in Iraq, the Iranian government is wringing their hands with fear and nervousness that this young democracy will alter the landscape of the Middle East into something they do not welcome. “They continue to play a role in supporting surrogates inside of Iraq that continue to conduct attacks both against U.S. and Iraqi security forces,” Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said at a Pentagon press conference last week. (more)

Is a new day slowly dawning for Iraq? In about a week, the Iraqi people will go to the polls once again in perhaps the most important election to date since the 2003 war began. This is yet another milestone in an ongoing series of transitions that began on Jan. 1, 2009. I was in Iraq then and in a journal wrote of that first milestone. “Today was the moment the U.S. and Iraqis have waited for—the Security Agreement is now in effect that will chart the future course of Iraq with the eventual drawdown of U.S. forces here.” (more)

We might have known that come election time in Iraq, it’s rarely the voting that counts. (more)