bloganovel

There have been elections in Iraq before today, and I'm not just talking about the ones earlier this year. For example, prior to the 2003 invasion, there was an election with 100% of the vote going to a particular candidate. Yup, the winner got every single vote. Last I heard, that guy was on trial for crimes against humanity. Maybe that's how he got to be so popular.

Given their history and the current conditions, I would say the Iraqi people deserve a big, purple "Thumbs up!" for their courage. Instapundit has lots of links to various round-ups, most notably Pajamas Media with reports from Iraq the Model.

Also via Instapundit, there is this from a reporter on the ground.

Think about everything you’ve heard about the conditions in Iraq, the role of U.S. forces, the multi-layered complexities of the war.

Then think again.

I’m a journalist. I read the news everyday, from several sources. I have the luxury of reading stuff newspapers don’t always have room to print. I read every tidbit I could on Iraq and the war before coming.

Everything I thought I knew was wrong.

Read the whole thing, as the Professor writes.

I asked my 10-year old at bedtime if she knew what historically important event had happened today. With a little prompting, she came up with the elections in Iraq. I tried to explain to her why it's important, why it matters to her and to me. I tried to explain how creating a stable democracy in the Arab world would fan the desire of average Arabs for self-rule. I hope someday she understands.

Oh, and women voted, too. A scandal in the Islamist world.

Perhaps I can give the Arab News the last word:

It will be some time before it is known which of the 6,655 candidates from an astonishing 307 different political parties has won one of the 275 seats in the first freely elected Parliament in Iraq’s history. What is clear, however, is that all Iraqis won a victory yesterday — a victory of peace over violence, of negotiation over nihilism, of brotherhood over bigotry.

No one should pretend, of course, that the violence will now end rapidly. But the display of determination by all Iraqis to participate in the democratic process must have made a deep impression on all but the most hardened terrorists. The fact that so many Sunnis trooped to the polling stations for the first time, having boycotted the previous two national votes, sends the clear message that the community which most of the insurgents pretend to represent wants peace, not violence. Nor are they prepared to be intimidated by the killers in their midst. They want to become part of the political process.

Whatever the final composition of Parliament, this was a vote for peace. The next stage is for the newly elected politicians to form a government and an opposition, which will fairly reflect the views of all communities. As we saw over the constitution, there will be protracted horse-trading and indeed further adjustments to be negotiated to that very document. Such negotiations must be conducted in a spirit of fairness and compromise. Wherever possible, Iraq’s new legislators must seek consensus and avoid entrenched positions.

Beginning today, this is democracy’s chance in Iraq. Massive hopes are riding on the success of the political process. Nevertheless, providing men of moderation can hold the center ground and bring more extreme politicians at least to its edge, the new Parliament can work. A muscular broad-based administration will only emerge if politicians are prepared to work together for the greater good. Now is not the time for individual political aspirations to come to the fore. Future Iraqis will honor all those who today focus on stability rather than their own ambitions.

Hat tip: Instapundit.

I could let people Google "Michael Yon" and skip me as the intermediary, but since his name is probably the most popular search string for hits on this blog, I'll continue to mention his postings.

The latest, including rememberance for Lt. Noah Harris and Seargant Arnold Duplantier.

In all humility, words cannot express my appreciation for the bravery, the compassion, and the professionalism of our troops. Thank you, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Reservists, Coast Guardsmen, and all who are in harm's way for our freedom.

 

Michael Yon remembers some who have given their lives for our freedom.

Thank you is wholly and completely inadequate.

Writer Michael Yon has a post from the "oil-pumping heart of Iraq" here.

And another post here.

Why are we in Iraq? Read Yon to find out.

Wretchard of The Belmont Club has analysis of operations in Iraq. It's a bit dated (6/18), but check back - you never know when there will be more.

Of course, the same thing applies to this site.

Austin Bay is in on the action in Iraq. A longish post is here. Key quote for me:

I find that this return visit to Iraq spurs thoughts of America– of American will to pursue victory. I don’t mean the will of US forces in the field. Wander around with a bunch of Marines for a half hour, spend fifteen minutes with Guardsmen from Idaho, and you will have no doubts about American military capabilities or the troops’ will to win. But our weakness is back home, on the couch, in front of the tv, on the cable squawk shows, on the editorial page of the New York Times, in the political gotcha games of Washington, DC. It seems America wants to get on with its wonderful Electra-Glide life, that September 10 sense of freedom and security, without finishing the job. The military is fighting, the Iraqi people are fighting, but where is the US political class? The Bush Administration has yet to ask the American people –correction, has yet to demand of the American people– the sustained, shared sacrifice it takes to win this long, intricate war of bullets, ballots, and bricks.

The GWOT is probably the main reason I read blogs, and a primary reason I blog.

Update: [I just want you all to know that I made my comments and quote before I read Instapundit today. Glenn Reynolds quotes the same section - mostly.]

Progress in Mosul. Story and pictures from Michael Yon. [Note: This article contains graphic details.]

Yesterday, I linked to Michael Yon's excursions in northern Iraq, courtesy of Instapundit. I failed to include this link to some very, very good background information.

Michael Yon, you may know, is a writer/photographer embedded with a Stryker unit in Iraq. He took the powerful picture of a soldier carrying a dying Iraqi girl following a homicide attack on their vehicle.

Please read the whole thing.

This is lengthy, but worth the read. An excerpt:

An Iraqi. A Kurd. A Yezidi. A village Headman. Whatever the label, more than forty years after his birth, this man came home. Only now, after the latest war, does Mr. Qatou finally have confidence in the peace, after more than a half century of life lived under orders or under sentence.

This seemed like the moment to ask the question, "What do you think of the United States?"

"We cry when America loses one soldier. We pray for the soldiers every night."

Many Kurds had expressed the same sentiment. One had said poetically: "For every drop of American blood, we shed one thousand Kurdish tears."

HT: Glenn Reynolds/Instapundit

I've been offended by the shoddy reporting Newsweek exhibited on the Qu'ran story. The generally accepted rule in journalism (at least when I studied it in 8th grade) was two reputable, name-able sources for any story. Printing stories that lead to deaths and smear the names of honest soldiers in wartime, not to mention the international impact on US diplomatic policy, demands more than a retraction, it demands a change in behavior and policy.

I've been thinking a lot about what caused the violent reaction to the Qu'ran story. Let's face it, the Arab world has been burning the US flag, and our president (in effigy) for decades. Have we ever seen riots in the U.S. over this kind of treatment? Maybe I wasn't paying attention and I missed them?

Okay, maybe were not comparing apples to apples.

What if a Muslim mistreated a Bible? If a story was released today that said the Bible was dropped down a port-a-potty, how would your average Christian react? Probably not with riots, I think.

Which makes me think there is something different in the mindset over there. Or maybe I don't understand the Muslim faith. Dr. Steven Covey says the first habit of highly effective people is to seek first to understand, then to be understood. So in the interest of understanding, I picked up the print edition of the May 30th issue of Time.

The article "The (Very) Holy Koran" by Dan Biema is archived on a subscription-only basis (sorry), but it was informative for me.

To compare the Koran to the Bible is an apples-to-oranges comparison, apparently. Since the Muslim believes that the Koran has existed eternally in heaven with Allah, it is more accurate to compare the Koran to Christ himself, who is described in John's Gospel this way:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. John 1:1-2, NIV

So we have a revelation of God, in the first case, a written book, eternally present with God; in the second case, the living, powerful Word of God, who was with God in the beginning, and who was God. But John gives us a clue to the major difference in the two religious views a few verses later:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. (verse 10)

In the Muslim faith, we find a God who gave the world a book. Granted, they believe it's a very special book.

In Christ, we find a God who gave us His Son so we might have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16, NIV)