A Democratic Iraq

If the news reports are to be believed, yesterday's vote in Iraq was an historic event that may very well shape the future of that part of the globe;

...authorities hailed the election as a success, saying security measures prevented car bombings and other attacks that many had feared would mar the elections.

"This is the greatest day in the history of this country," Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie told CNN.

He said voters had defied loyalists of Saddam Hussein and terrorist leaders Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden. "I think we have sustained a very big blow on them -- at least psychologically -- today," Al-Rubaie said.

Throughout Iraq, voters' fingers were marked with ink to prevent them from voting more than once.

At a voting center in Baghdad, one man dipped his son's finger in ink.

"This is our badge of pride," he said...

I am thrilled and am rejoicing with the people of Iraq.

Such an election would not have been possible without strict security. In other words, it would not have been possible without the presence of American forces. This doesn't cancel out the thousands of civilian deaths, or Abu Ghraib. So much is wrong about this invasion and occupation. But this time, it looks like we got it right.

J.