1/31/2005

Iraqi Election

I'm pleased that the election in Iraq went more smoothly than I anticipated. It is moving to see the people who voted, who are taking the concept of democracy to heart. It may turn out to be a blow against terrorism - it may not. It may turn the entire region around - it may not. I think it's too early to draw any conclusions about what the election means, because we won't really know whether it was a success until several years down the road.

It is rather depressing to read all the gloating from the right regarding the election, though. A successful election does not negate the way the Bush administration achieved it - lying to the American people, manipulating intelligence to support their conclusions, misusing our military men and women, killing many thousands of innocent Iraqi people, turning America into a country that commits acts of evil, like torture, dragging our good name into the mud. None of that has changed because Iraqi people have voted. There's really not a lot to gloat about.


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