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"Thirty-five years of a repressive dictatorship can change people. It can affect their ethics and their morale
and their confidence. It can impose a feeling of helplessness on them. Under Saddam Hussein if you stuck your
head up and disagreed you'd be killed, so people learned not to disagree. And they learned to accept. And yet
here they showed a collective and individual act of courage that was just breathtaking."
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Interview with CNN, Feb. 1, 2005 |
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| VIEW FROM ABOVE – Iraqi voters wait in line to cast their vote at one of the polling sites in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 30, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Dave Ahlschwede High Res Photo More Photos |
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| Shiia Slates Win in Iraq, Call for Unity |
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| WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2005 – The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq announced the results of the nationwide voting that took place Jan. 30. Commission officials announced the results in a Baghdad news conference Feb. 13. Story |
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| Successful Elections Deal Blow to Terrorists |
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| ARABIAN GULF REGION, Feb. 10, 2005 – Terrorists operating in Iraq have received a blow to their credibility, based on successful Iraqi elections and coupled with an inability to interject their agenda into U.S. elections, according to a senior military officer in the region today. Story |
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| Elections Boost Confidence in Iraqi Security Forces |
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| WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2005 – The Iraqi elections at the end of January have given the security forces a needed boost of confidence, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command today. Story |
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| IRAQI ELECTIONS – An unidentified sheik enters a polling site in southeastern Baghdad on Jan. 30 as Iraqi policemen providing security for the location look on. Despite the potential of violence from insurgents, large numbers of registered voters in Iraq took part in the first free election in more than 50 years. U.S. Army photo High Res Photo |
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| Rumsfeld Conveys Appreciation to Troops
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2005 – On January 30th in Iraq, the world witnessed an important moment in the global struggle against tyranny, a moment that historians might one day call a major turning point. America's men and women in uniform, who were instrumental in the liberation of Iraq, were there to witness this moment as well. During the struggle to bring freedom to Iraq, many of you have faced difficult times far from home. Message |
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| FIRST VOTE – Iraqi President Al Yawer talks to a reporter, Jan. 30, 2005. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Angelique Perez More Photos |
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| Colonel Compares Iraqi Elections to U.S. Civil Rights Movement |
| WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2005 — The Jan. 30 Iraqi elections mirrored America's march toward civil rights, an Army commander said during the African-American History Month observance on his base earlier this month. Iraqi voters have responded to the "challenge for democracy and freedom," just as African-Americans did "to be who we are today and be able to make the contributions that we make each and every day to this great country," said Army Col. Thomas W. Williams, garrison commander at Fort Belvoir, Va. Story |
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U.S. Soldiers Relate
Iraqi Election Day Events |
| FORWARD OPERATING BASE PALIWODA, Iraq, Feb. 9, 2005 – Despite the dangers and threats of terrorists and insurgent activity, more than 30,000 Balad, Yethrib and Ishaki voters hit the polls and the Iraqis who voted thanked Coalition Forces for helping them vote, a Task Force Danger soldier said. Story |
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| Commander Thanks Troops Who Helped 'Shape History' |
| WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2005 - The general in charge of coalition forces in Iraq took to the airwaves Feb. 2 to thank troops in the country for their work in the success of Iraq's Jan. 30 national assembly election. Story |
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"Today is a great day for Iraq and Iraqis. Today we determine our future for ourselves for the first time."
Iraqi Spokesman Tha'ir al-Naqeeb |
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| NUMBER ONE
– An Iraqi man proudly displays his blue finger after having been the first person to vote in an eastern Baghdad polling station. Every voter is marked with blue ink to indicate that they have voted. U.S. Army photo |
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