Well, What Was It?

I don't do the politics thing well. I confess that I am somewhat naive about political things. I never liked the process of sausage-making.

And yet, I have become sensitive, though not overly so, of media bias. I am not really sure who to trust anymore for news, as all news seems slanted by the Left and the Right. Even if it is only a word of phrase, the meaning of a story can change.

A recent story by the AP, here, expresses concern for the upcoming Iraqi elections by UN official. This official is reported as saying "there were still obstacles to overcome to ensure that the violence did not turn people away from ballot boxes, as it had done at elections for an interim assembly in January." (Not an actual quote from the official, just a quote from the article.)

I was not aware that in the first Iraqi election last January people were turned away from the ballot boxes, in spite of the violence. A CNN story indicates just the opposite, here.

Initial reports indicated voter turnout appeared to be higher than expected, even in Sunni-majority areas where insurgent attacks have occurred on a near daily basis.

Many voters proudly displayed their ink-stained fingers in defiance of the insurgency. Each person who voted dipped his or her finger in ink to prevent people from voting twice.

The IECI clarified an earlier estimate of a 72 percent turnout, saying that the "figures are only very rough, word-of-mouth estimates gathered informally from the field."

"What is certainly the case is that turnout has exceeded expectations throughout the country," the statement said.

Of course, increased violence can hamper voter turnout, but it did not seem to affect the last election. Why would the AP writer and the UN official make such a claim now?

It is, I think, thoroughly disgusting and immoral for recent suicide bombing attacks on children, here, or at a wedding of fellow Muslims. The acts of evil, or the acts of desperation, or the acts of "insurgents"? If this is what the "insurgents" are made of, perhaps that bodes well for freedom in the Middle East. Good people may disagree on the US involvement in Iraq, but no decent person should be able to defend the bombing of children receiving candy, or a wedding.

Anyway, my original impetus for this was the reporting of voter turnout in January, and then the contrasted fears that voter turnout would be hampered next month, when it wasn't in the first place. Seems an odd inclusion in the article to me, and may express the genuine views of the UN official, or the writer adding "spin" to his story.