Purple Revolution

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Iraqi police officers hold up their index fingers marked with purple indelible ink, a security measure to prevent double voting.

Purple Revolution is a term that some have given to the end of Saddam Hussein's governance in Iraq and the coming of democracy to the nation. The name is after the color revolutions trend of democratic revolutionary movements in authoritarian states -- the Rose Revolution in Georgia, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, and the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon are three examples. In this context, the "purple" stands for the ink-stain marking the index fingers of first-time voters in the 2005 Iraqi legislative election (the semi-permanent stain was to prevent fraudulent multiple voting).

The term first appeared shortly after the January 2005 election in various weblogs and editorials of individuals supportive of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. [1] The term received its widest usage during a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush on February 24, 2005 to Bratislava, Slovak Republic for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bush stated: "In recent times, we have witnessed landmark events in the history of liberty: A Rose Revolution in Georgia, an Orange Revolution in Ukraine, and now, a Purple Revolution in Iraq." [2]

Although fairly common in conservative-leaning American media, the term has not been adopted by Iraqis or the majority of Americans.

[edit] See also

• Post-invasion Iraq