Soccer Dad

Iraqi Election Footnotes

Secular Blasphemy)(channeling Instapundit channeling Ann Althouse )

The NYT item I linked below had a very positive headline: "Amid Attacks, a Party Atmosphere on Baghdad's Closed Streets." Too good, obviously, for the party line, so the editors changed it to a more glum "Insurgent Attacks in Baghdad and Elsewhere Kill at Least 24."
Obviously, even that wasn't negative enough. It is now changed to "Attacks in Baghdad and Elsewhere Reportedly Kill Several Dozen."

Apparently too much good news for some.

But according to Roger L Simon there's been a couple of intriguing Letters to the Editor at the NY Times. Nice to know that the Times occasionally allows opposing viewpoints.

Crossing the Rubicon2 notes that Putin and Gorbachev have reacted quite differently to the Iraqi reactions. And neither chose the side of the debate one would have expected. Actually Putin's response is a lot more understandable. Whether he truly supported elections or not, as a leader of a country Putin has an interest in cultivating possible allies.

UPDATE: Noah Shachtman at Defense Tech who is no fan of this administration (and acknowledges as much) gives gracious recognition to President Bush and his government in "Something Beautiful":

In Iraqis, the White House saw a group who couldn't wait to grab control of their lives, after so many years without leverage at all. The President's people were right. And, as a result, something beautiful happened on Sunday.

Posted by SoccerDad at February 2, 2005 5:22 AM