Must read -- Guardian (UK) - The Vietnam turnout was good as well

[matt819]

A reality-based assessment of the election in Iraq --
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1402922,00.html.

Interesting parallels to how the elections in South Vietnam were portrayed in 1967 -- note, 1967, smack dab in the middle of the Vietnam War, six years before it ended for the US in ignominy, with 57,000 dead.

Some interesting points regarding current spin, including percentage voting, numbers registered, etc. -- points we have raised here on DU.

<snip>

On September 4 1967 the New York Times published an upbeat story on presidential elections held by the South Vietnamese puppet regime at the height of the Vietnam war. Under the heading "US encouraged by Vietnam vote: Officials cite 83% turnout despite Vietcong terror", the paper reported that the Americans had been "surprised and heartened" by the size of the turnout "despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting". A successful election, it went on, "has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam". The echoes of this weekend's propaganda about Iraq's elections are so close as to be uncanny. . .

If truth is the first casualty of war, reliable numbers must be the first casualty of an occupation-controlled election. The second layer of spin has been designed to convince us that an overwhelming majority of Iraqis participated. The initial claim of 72% having voted was quickly downgraded to 57% of those registered to vote. So what percentage of the adult population is registered to vote? The Iraqi ambassador in London was unable to enlighten me. In fact, as UN sources confirm, there has been no registration or published list of electors - all we are told is that about 14 million people were entitled to vote.

As for Iraqis abroad, the up to 4 million strong exiled community (with perhaps a little over 2 million entitled to vote) produced a 280,000 registration figure. Of those, 265,000 actually voted. . .

<snip>

[Demeter]

1. Potempkin Elections

for the blow-dried, Reality-denying, Red-handed GOP. Again, the world follows a stupid, expensive, soul-destroying, brain-eating US fad.