Iraq Elections

History was made yesterday in the war torn country of Iraq. For the first time in more than 50 years, the Iraqi people were allowed to vote in free elections in what will eventually determine the Prime Minister of Iraq as well as that country's future.

The election can not be considered anything less than an overwhelming success as an estimated 72% of the eligible voters in Iraq turned out to let their voices be heard. Of the nearly 300,000 people who registered to vote in other abstentia, a whopping 93% actually voted. I don't know what the totals were for the Presidential election here in the US last November, but I would guess it was substantially less the Iraqi figures.

So now we wait for the results of who won the races. But in reality we already know who won. The Iraqi people are the winners today. These people were threatened and bullied by insurgent thugs who despise freedom and the human rights we take for granted all too often.

The Iraqi people rose up yesterday and said YES. Yes to freedom, yes to an end to tyranny, yes to a future where peace and happiness can be legitimate goals. Yes to religious freedom and yes to George W. Bush who 18 months ago said this was the goal.

Today we can look at Iraq as a country whose people have taken the first step, and it was a doozy, towards freedom.

44 people were reported killed after voting yesterday, yet the threats didn't keep the people away like the opposition wanted. It didn't keep people away despite what the democrats and the liberal said would happen. It is right to mourn those who died for their convictions, but it is more important to celebrate what their sacrifice means to the future of Iraq.
May God bless Iraq and watch over her people. May the insurgence see this as what it is; a mandate that their way is not the will of the people. May God also bless our troops who have worked so long and hard over there in helping their people have this opportunity.

It is still going to be a long, arduous battle to finish the job, but the people of Iraq made a solid statement yesterday. Freedom will prevail and the people will be heard.