A Wonderful Day In Iraq [Say Anything]

Here's something you wouldn't have seen had America and its allies not liberated Iraq.

AP - Watched by her daughter and an election official an Iraqi woman votes at a polling station located in a school in the town of Abu Al Khasib on the southern edge of the Iraqi city of Basra , Sunday Jan. 30 2005. Iraqis defied threats of violence and calls for a boycott to cast ballots in Iraq's first free election in a half-century Sunday. Insurgents seeking to wreck the vote struck polling stations with a string of suicide bombings and mortar volleys, killing at least 44 people, including nine suicide bombers.

The bitter, anti-Bush left will no doubt crap all over this fine display of suffrage choosing instead to highlight the fact that terrorists continue to fight against democracy in that country. They'd rather hang this newly-founded, fledgling democracy out to dry instead of fighting to the good fight against hate-mongers would would see Iraq returned to an oppressive, terror-sponsoring regime.

To which I say: To hell with them. Today is a wonderful day for the Iraqis even if blind partisanship doesn't allow some people to see that.

Update:

Conservative Princess:

Democracy in Iraq is so obviously a threat to other Middle East nations--when a group is determined enough to risk their lives to stand in the way, there must be a lot at stake. In Iraq, casting a single vote for freedom--the recognition that the people have a will and it is not that of fanatic clerics and terrorists--is a blow to the survival of totalitarianism, religious fanaticism, and religious oligarchy. If the Bush doctrine is correct, the election of a Parliament in Iraq should be responsible for a slight domino effect--one that already has roots in Iran, Libya and Syria. The war in Iraq has already been successful in exposing and curbing nuclear proliferation in both Iran and Libya, and in exposing Syria's extensive terrorist ties.

Saturday started out with a mortar attack on the US Embassy, killing two Americans, and insurgents did not fail to fulfill their promises of homicide bombings, the Iraqi forces, with US help, contained the promised "spectacular attacks" to less than 20, with less than 30 deaths overall; there were 5300 polling stations. Absolutely amazing.

Read the whole thing.

Update 2:

Alpha Patriot has a round-up of reactions from Iraqi bloggers.

[Cross-posted at Say Anything]