Past blunders eclipsed apparently...

Poll success eclipses past blunders for US

Iraq's election has fuelled the feeling that the corner may have been turned, reports Conor O'Clery.

For a White House assailed by critics, Sunday's election in Iraq exceeded expectations and brought some relief after nearly two years of blunders and setbacks. However, President Bush was careful in his reaction not to appear too jubilant, to avoid raising expectations that a turning point had been reached and US troops would be coming home soon.

"Terrorists and insurgents will continue to wage their war against democracy, and we will support the Iraqi people in their fight against them," Mr Bush said. But it was only the first step and "we will continue training Iraqi security forces so this rising democracy can eventually take responsibility for its own security."

While the insurgents suffered a setback in the election, their capacity to continue to inflict casualties on coalition troops was underscored by the death of four US marines yesterday and the shooting down of an RAF plane with the loss of 10 lives on Sunday.

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http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world
/2005/0201/501233386FR01OCLERY.html


Dear Sir/Madam,

Conor O'Clery reports "Poll success eclipses past blunders for US,
Iraq's election has fuelled the feeling that the corner may have been
turned." While the elections in Iraq have been hailed as a victory for
freedom, "The world is hearing the voice of freedom from the center of
the Middle East" [Bush told reporters at the White House], which is a
view polarized in the election reactions to Hugo Chavez's ninth
consecutive electoral victory in six years. Is a victory for "freedom"
dependent on the level of US control? With over 100,000 Iraqis dead,
over 1,000 coalition troops dead and a country left in ruins. The
question remains, do the ends justify the means?

Yours sincerely,