Mr. Michael Moore can close his mouth now!!!
The question of whether Islam and democracy are compatible already has an affirmative answer in countries like Turkey and Indonesia. Is Iraq incompatible with democracy? The answers are now cold, hard facts ladies and gentlemen. Many were swayed by naysayers of Bush’s election agenda, but despite opposition in the American homefront, over 60 percent of Iraqis voted, which is about equal to participation in the last American election. Defying suicide bombers and threats to their lives as well as those of their children the Iraqi people deserve nothing but our esteem and respect. I’m sure that even the skeptics in the media were swept away by this display of courage.
Election Day reports indicate that some 50 Iraqis died in attacks on polling places, including perhaps a dozen suicide bombings as well as some mortar attacks. Fear of violence dominated the first hours of polling in Iraq, but then people started pouring in to voting booths. It is obvious there is a desire of the ordinary Iraqi to vote and be heard.
There has been no comment since the Iraq elections from Mr. Michael Moore. In the Academy Award-winning Fahrenheit 9/11, he characterized Iraqi insurgents as “Minutemen,” and predicted “they will win.” Moorewatch.com, a site dedicated to countering the filmmaker’s political statements says, “I find it telling that the man who has lamented such great concern for the kite-flying, tea-sipping
Iraqi people featured in ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ can’t be bothered to string together a few words of admiration for those same people who braved the threat of death to cast their votes this past weekend,” the anti-Moore Web site said. “It seems Moore only admires the Iraqi people when they validate his agenda of hating George Bush.”
After this tremendous victory, some administration critics saw the elections as reason to revise their opinion of President Bush. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown, who has consistently opposed Mr. Bush and the war in Iraq, wrote for yesterday’s edition that “it’s hard to swallow,” but “what if it turns out Bush was right and we were wrong?” The Chicago columnist wrote that he was
struck by “television coverage from Iraq that showed long lines of people risking their lives by turning out to vote, honest looks of joy on so many of their faces.” “If it turns out Bush was right all along, this is going to require some serious penance,” Mr. Brown wrote.
Everything about the election wasn’t perfect though. The voter turn-out in the Kurdish and Shi’ite areas had extraordinarily high turnout, but clearly the Sunni areas saw less and in some cases, none at all, resulting in the under-representation of Sunnis in the political process. As things now stand, Sunnis face the prospect of exclusion and marginalization. Their participation will be crucial to the success of a unified Iraq, and without them, there is a risk the country could fracture into three, with vast regional instability immediately ensuing. Therefore, the great task of the future is for Iraq’s politicians to work together to create Iraq’s first constitution.
In the end . . .
Losers: Advocates of immediate American disengagement. Winners: The Iraqi people and the Bush administration.
Most of the information and ideas and quotes came from
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050202-123527-1015r.htm
By James G. Lakely
THE WASHINGTON TIMES