- Purple Revolution
Purple Revolution is a term that some have given to the end of
Saddam Hussein 's governance inIraq and the coming ofdemocracy to the nation. The name is after thecolor revolution s trend of democraticrevolution ary movements in authoritarian states -- theRose Revolution in Georgia, theOrange Revolution inUkraine , and theCedar Revolution inLebanon 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
weblog s and editorials of individuals supportive of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. [http://realclearpolitics.com/Commentary/blog_1_31_05_0935.html] The term received its widest usage during a visit byU.S. President George W. Bush onFebruary 24 ,2005 toBratislava , Slovak Republic for a summit withRussia n PresidentVladimir 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." [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050224-1.html]Although fairly common in conservative-leaning American media, the term has not been adopted by Iraqis or the majority of Americans.
ee also
*
Post-invasion Iraq
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.