Uechi-Ryu.com

When Amanpour suggested the U.S.-led war ousted Saddam Hussein, Al-Assad replied, "Yeah, but what did you lose as a return? The hope of the people, the stability, no better democracy, no better economy, no services, no stability in the region, more terrorism -- so is that the prize you've won for getting rid of a dictator? That's not a goal."

So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!

And I still have no sympathy for the South during Reconstruction, Virginia's monuments to the treasonists not withstanding. That's just me.

Sorry I haven't been around for the past few weeks, but I got a call that things weren't well with my Mom. She lost her 16 year battle with cancer on Oct. 5, 1/2 hour after I got there.

Iraq's Draft Constitution
Passes Voter Referendum

Militants Target Kurds
In 2 Suicide Attacks

Associated Press
October 25, 2005 2:23 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's constitution was adopted by a majority during the country's Oct. 15 referendum, as Sunni Arab opponents failed to muster enough support to defeat it, election officials said Tuesday. A prominent Sunni politician called the balloting "a farce."

The referendum results, announced after a 10-day audit following allegations of fraud, confirmed previous indications that Sunni Arabs failed to produce the two-thirds "no" vote they would have needed in at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces to defeat the constitution.

Al Qaeda in Iraq, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for Monday's suicide attacks that targeted hotels housing Western journalists and contractors in central Baghdad, as well as two suicide bombings in a Kurdish area of northern Iraq on Tuesday.

The vote on the constitution was 78.59% in favor of ratification and 21.41% against, the commission said. The charter required a simple majority nationwide with the provision that if two-thirds of the voters in any three provinces rejected it, the constitution would be defeated.

The election commission said the predominantly Sunni province of Ninevah had produced a "no" vote of only 55%. Only two other mostly Sunni provinces -- Salahuddin and Anbar -- had voted no by two-thirds or more.

The White House congratulated Iraqis on the results. "It's a landmark day in the history of Iraq," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "The political process is continuing to move forward in Iraq and it is an encouraging sign to see more and more people participating in the process."

The charter is considered a major step in Iraq's democratic reforms, clearing the way for the election of a new, full-term Iraqi parliament on Dec. 15. Such steps are important in any decision about the future withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Iraq.

However, some fear the victory, which came despite a large turnout by Sunni Arabs in an effort to defeat it, could enrage many members of the minority and fuel their support for the insurgency.

Carina Perelli, the United Nations elections chief, praised a "very good job" with the audit of results by election officials and said "Iraq should be proud of the commission."

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