Additional articles 1.31.2005

The Gaylord Herald Times, MI, has a followup report on wounded 2nd BCT soldier Pfc. Derrick Harden. Pfc. Harden, of the 1-503rd, was wounded on 1.17.2005 in Ramadi when his Humvee was hit by an I.E.D. According to the article, "During two separate operations [in Germany], several pieces of shrapnel had to be removed from his face, his right leg was amputated below the knee, and an artery in his right arm was tied off in an effort to save it," and he underwent another surgery at walter Reed hospital on 1.26.2005. According to the pastor of the family's church, "He's still in critical condition, but he's better than he was the night before." The church is holding a candlelight prayer service for Pfc. Harden this Sunday, and is helping raise donations to cover expenses for family members to be at his side.
==============
NBC News has an article on the election in Ramadi and the response of the 2/5 Marines. According to the article, 1700 votes were cast in Ramadi (About 1% of eligible voters), 7500 were cast in Fallujah, and 15,000 across the Anbar province (those numbers are similar to but lower than those reported in the LA Times). Also, "While there are no precise census data, U.S. military sources believe that in the end up to 10 percent of Al Anbar’s Sunnis voted." Several 2/5 Marines are quoted. The article portrays the Marines' impressions as being happy about the overall vote, dissapointed in the vote in Ramadi (especially considering the massive PR effort), and some concern that the insurgency will continue in the area if the Sunni population isn't included in the governing process.
==============
The NY Times (reg req'd) mentions voting in the Anbar province: "In the weeks leading up to the vote, election officials took several extraordinary measures to make voting easier in Sunni areas. They allowed voters in some of those areas to register on election day, and permitted voters to travel outside their neighborhoods to cast ballots. In some of the smaller villages around Ramadi, where many city residents were encouraged to vote, election workers reported that they had run out of ballots. In the refugee camps outside Falluja, set up after heavy fighting there in November, Iraqi officials reported steady voting."In Anbar, the number of votes were very good compared to our estimates," Mr. Ayar, the election commission spokesman, said of that province, without telling what those estimates were. "We did not expect a lot of turnout, but we found a lot of people standing in line in Anbar. Adnan Pachachi, the former Iraqi foreign minister and one of the country's most prominent Sunni candidates, said his own reports suggested that participation by Sunnis might have reached as high as 40 percent. If that holds, he said, it would amount to a repudiation of the violent way."
==============
Other articles:
- AFP: Sunni clerics maintain rejection of Iraq election
- Reuters: Diplomats, analysts say Iraq insurgency still strong
- Reuters: Counting 'going well' in Iraq's historic vote
- BBC: Analysis: A turning point for Iraq?