A Great Day for Iraq

Only a die-hard Bush hater could not call this weekend's elections in Iraq a victory for democracy and the Iraqi people. Expatriates were voting this weekend around the world with tears in their eyes, saying they now know what freedom really means.

I strongly supported invading Iraq, but not for the reasons you may think. Islamic fundamentalism is the evil of our age as communism was to our parents and the Third Reich was to our grandparents. There are many causes of militant Islam, all of which I won't get into here, but the core is virtually every Middle Eastern country except Israel is run by an autocracy or theocracy. The world's Muslims, except for those who live in countries like the U.S., do not have democratic governments or a democratic press. Living conditions are execrable -- education is non-existent and community leaders, often paid by their governments, routinely blame society's ills on America or Zionist causes. Women are often treated worse than animals.

Iraq was clearly one of those countries, and it was run by a madman who had gassed thousands of his own people, started wars with two of his neighbors and tortured and murdered many, many more. In fact, Saddam Hussein probably killed more Muslims than anyone else in recent history. I understand when people said they were against invading Iraq, but I always ask them: So you'd rather have Saddam Hussein back in power?

No, I supported the Iraq war because I believe that, if done right, we could set up a democratic government in the heart of the Arab world. And once that government gains a foothold, the ripple effect would be tremendous. Middle Easterners would stop worrying about ways to destroy America and Israel and start thinking about ways to make their countries better. They would start demanding the same rights that Iraqis have. With the freedom democracy brings, a mullah's call for holy war and suicidal/homicidal jihad would have far less appeal to a drifting young Muslim male than the opportunity to change his country for the better, or even the desire to make a lot of money for himself.

It has pained me to see how badly the Bush Administration has bungled Iraq since winning the war. The criticisms -- from not enough boots on the ground to restoring basic necessities like electricity to underestimating terrorist resistance to the occupation -- are all valid and on-point. Thousands of our troops and Iraqis have died, almost all at the hands of terrorists who have no doubt been egged on by the mullahs and leaders I have just discussed.

But in the midst of the chaos there is real hope in the form of these elections. This is the seed that can do so much to help end the scourge of home-grown terrorism in the Middle East. Ironically, even the terrorists in Iraq know how much is at stake here. This is the "Freedom" part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Voting in Iraq will surely not be easy, but I anticipate that turnout will be better than we all think.

Several people have drawn a parallel between Iraq and El Salvador. El Salvador was in the middle of a civil war in the early 1980s and rebels were routinely blowing up utilities and murdering civilians. As the first election day (helped, in part, by the U.S.) approached, the rebels threatened death to anyone who voted. But turnout on election day was over 80% despite random attacks on polling places. Turnout at the next election was even higher as the people understood that the rebels were not promoting any method other than violence, and today the rebels have vanished and El Salvador is a fully democratic country.

Even if there is a good turnout, will Iraq change overnight? Of course not. It takes a while for the roots of democracy to grow. But this will begin the first steps to an Iraqi representative government and constitution, and spur the rest of the Middle East to start demanding the same rights from their leaders who were never elected.