Iraqi Pro-Democracy Party

The Iraqi Pro-Democracy Party (IPDP) states on its website that "We believe that we represent an important segment of the Iraqi people that was never organized before under any category as a result of the oppression of the past regime. Now this segment has come to see the necessity to contribute to the building of a new Iraq in a way that is entirely different from the old ways." [1]

The list of candidates is headed by the Fadhil brothers, who run the blog Iraq The Model [2]. As of late January 2005, the brothers have posted 400+ articles on their life in Iraq.

Despite the party's title, the domain name iraqdemparty.org was initially registered to an American, Tom Villars of Ann Arbor, Michigan [3]. Following discussion of this fact on SourceWatch, Villars changed the registrant info in late January 2005 to "Omar F." at an undisclosed Baghdad address. Villars still serves as both the Admin and Tech contact for the domain. Villars also runs Iraqi Blogger Technical Support, a website that solicits donations for Iraqi blogs, including Iraqi Pro-Democracy Party and Iraq The Model [4].

For a discussion between Neconned and Tom Villars on the issue of the domain registrant, please click on the discussion tab. --Tvillas 23:43, 8 Feb 2005 (EST)

In edits to this article made in late January 2005, Tom Villars offered the following explanation of the role he plays in the Iraqi Pro-Democracy Party:

"As the Iraqi financial institutions are still relatively immature, Tom Villars and other citizens from developed countries have been assisting the Iraqi Pro-Democracy Party and other Iraqi blogger by using their credit cards and money transfer systems such as PayPal [5] to pay for services that Iraqis couldn't otherwise purchase."

On August 19, 2004, a press release was published announcing the candidacy of the Fadhil brothers, who run the blog Iraq The Model, for the Iraqi National Assembly. The press release was submitted by Tom Villars. Besides listing contact info for two of the candidates, the media contacts for English speakers and Arabic speakers were given as Jeff Jarvis and Fayrouz Hancock, respectively. [6]

SourceWatch resources

• Iraqi Blogger Technical Support
• Tom Villars

External links

• http://iraqiblogtechsupport.blogspot.com - Iraqi Blogger Technical Support website.
• http://www.iraqdemparty.org/ - Iraqi-Pro Democracy Party website.
• http://english.iraqdemparty.org/ - Iraqi-Pro Democracy Party website (English version).
• "[http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb150587.htm

Iraqi bloggers Ali & Mohammed announce candidacy for the Iraqi National Assembly]", PRWeb press release, August 19, 2004.