Over de provinciale verkiezingen in Irak

Voting under way in Iraq amid tight security

Iraqis passed through security checkpoints and razor-wire cordons to vote Saturday in provincial elections that are considered a crucial test of the nation's stability as U.S. officials consider the pace of troop withdrawals.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD96212O81


Violence and Intimidation Mark Run-Up to Iraqi Elections

Two candidates were killed and widespread reports of threats and bribery are reported as Iraq goes to the polls. Landmark provincial elections to be held across Iraq on Saturday are being marred by widespread claims of vote-buying and intimidation, undermining faith in a ballot billed as the stirrings of democracy after four years of sectarian war.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/30/iraq-elections-violence-intimidation

“Blackwater will leave Iraq if US orders it”

Blackwater: We will leave Iraq if US orders it (By MIKE BAKER; 30-01-2009)

Blackwater Worldwide, denied an operating license in Iraq, said Thursday it could leave the country within 72 hours but cautioned that such a move would cause more harm to the American diplomats it protects than the company itself.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8-xka7yIh4BmC28s6ImXlMB62OwD9616BL00

Blackwater in Iraq not longer allowed to work there

Gunmen apparently targeting political candidates staged attacks around Iraq on Thursday, leaving at least three people dead as Iraqi forces began imposing a full-scale security clampdown in advance of voting for provincial council seats.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/29/blackwater-in-iraq-wont-b_n_162111.html

Observations and Iraq and Baghdad

Officially the name of Iraq is the Republic of Iraq. It is a country in Western Asia which shares borders with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, and Iran to the east. The capital is Baghdad.

The country is spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.

Iraq has a very narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (35 miles) between Umm Qasr and Al Faw on the Persian Gulf.

There are two major flowing rivers: the Tigris and the Euphrates. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.

Iraq's rich history dates back to ancient Mesopotamia. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is identified as the cradle of civilization and a birthplace of writing.

Throughout its long history, Iraq has been the center of the Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Sassanid and Abbasid empires, and part of the Achaemenid, Macedonian, Parthian, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Ottoman and British empires.

The federal government of Iraq is nowaadays defined under the current Constitution as an Islamic, democratic, federal parliamentary republic.

The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions.

Aside from the federal government, there are regions (made of one or more governorates), governorates, and districts within Iraq with jurisdiction over various matters as defined by law.