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Printer-Friendly ModeGiving the President the credit he deserves
Successful Iraqi elections yesterday only a start
January 31, 2005 —
I wish we could have a "greatest day in the history of this country." Well, kinda.
The United States of America, of course, has had several "greatest days." But there hasn't been something like what Mowaffak al-Rubaie was referring to when he said the above quote to CNN. And I'll admit it – we finally did something right in Iraq.
It's about damn time.
Yesterday, of course, was Iraq's first free national election in half a century, and it's been hailed as a success not just by U.S. officials, but by Iraqi and international officials, as well. Even though there were more than two dozen people killed as of press time, this thing has gone over pretty smoothly. And while it's not just the United States' doing here – the Iraqis have gone through a lot, just in the last two years alone – I'll be the first to admit this wouldn't be happening if it weren't for our intervention.
98.8 percent of the balloting stations that were supposed to be open were, definitely much closer to 100 percent than I expected. The counting of the ballots began last night and is continuing today, and then they will be taken to Baghdad for a recount, making sure to get the votes right and assuring there will be no possible foul play like in the Ukraine.
Insurgents claimed to wash the streets with "voters' blood," but only 28 people were killed and 71 were injured. This number, while not quite positive, was certainly less than they implied. Security measures were successful against possible attacks that could have led to more deaths. "The streets of Baghdad were not filled with blood as the threats of terrorist groups had mentioned," election official Faryid Ayar told CNN. "[Terrorists] directed a message to us: the message of killing. And we directed to them the message of elections and freedom and democracy."
And it's really as simple as that. Freedom finally won out over violence, at least for today. The transition of power will most certainly be more hectic than yesterday, with more violence possible when the transition occurs. But freedom won this round, and more security measures should allow it to win the next round as well.
As much as it would normally pain me to write this, President George Bush and his government did an efficient – at the very least – job in pointing the Iraqi people in the right direction. In a brief statement yesterday, Bush demonstrated his pleasure in the turnout, sacrifices by both voters and candidates, and the security provided by the military. I couldn't agree with him more.
This is something that the entire world can be proud of. It is one of those moments that almost makes us hold hands and together sing the praises of President Bush, his government, the armed forces serving the Iraqis, and the Iraqis themselves. Regardless of what our political views were before the election, and regardless of what they still are, this is a time when we all need to sit back and say, "Good job." There may be some who say the elections should have occurred sooner, or that we still don't have a feasible exit plan, or that Iraq's presidential system will falter like most others' have before. But for today, that's not important.
What is important is that a country just had the greatest day in their history. We should all be so lucky.
Editor's Note: My condolences go out to SVSU Women's Basketball Coach Vonnie Killmer, who lost her husband, Gregg, over the weekend in an unfortunate car accident. I played hockey at Arthur Hill High School here in Saginaw under Gregg for one year, and he was one of the funniest and, plain and simple, best men I have ever met in my life. He had a way of making each hard practice worth it in the end by the way he treated us all, both on the ice and off it. Hope to see you back on the court soon, Coach.