Political Quotes

“today marks a proud and momentous day in Iraq's history. Today, on December 15, 2005, 15 million registered voters will go to the polls to choose their first permanently elected government in modern Iraqi history. Along with them, Iraqis from all around the world will cast their votes for freedom, for Iraq's future--including Iraqi Kurds in my home town of Nashville, Tennessee. As it so happens, Nashville is home to the largest Kurdish population in the United States of approximately 8,000 Iraqi expats. This past January, over 3,000 of our Kurdish neighbors voted in the historic January 30 elections which put Iraq on the road to independent, democratic self-rule. Tennessee election organizers predict that the turnout for today's vote will be double that number. Iraqis from all around the region are converging on Nashville to cast their votes in solidarity with their brothers and sisters of their native land. Susan Dakak, whose family moved from Baghdad to Tennessee 27 years ago, tells the Chattanooga Times Free Press, ``This is a dream come true. I never thought in my life that Iraq would get to where it is politically.'' Susan and her husband, Janan, plan to travel from Knoxville to Nashville, and they plan to bring their 9-year-old son with them to witness the personal and historic moment of casting their ballots as free citizens. And as Susan understands, her vote is not just for her birth country, but for her adopted country, as well.…”