Iraq and Afghanistan

If this election succeeds at all in the most challenged provinces it will be a true miracle. I hope the Bush team has his staff praying hard. 90,000 election kits are being sent out to 5500 polling places in the next few days. 200,000 poll workers have been trained. Each polling place consists of a room with a variety of tables that each person must come by. When it is over, the workers will sit down and count the votes, shipping the results (and the ballots?) to Baghdad over the next few days. Now each voter has to have his finger marked with a special dye that will last at least a week. This all in a country in which major roads even in the better areas are seldom safe, and where the insurgency has claimed that voters are traitors to the country and/or Islam. If you had seen insurgents active in your area, would you go to the polling stations? Would you take the chance that someone might stop you and demand to see your finger? One hopes that Iraqis are made of sterner stuff than you or I.