Tuesday, February 01, 2005

How Sweet It Is

The world is awash with excitement at the Iraqi election on this Monday morning. Reports show a good turnout for Kurds and Shi’ites and not so good for Sunnis. Only 44 people were killed on election day, relative calm for Iraq these days. For the first time since the fall of Baghdad, American policy is able to demonstrate some accomplishment. The real accomplishment was, however, an Iraqi one. Iraqis turned out to vote in the face of violence and death. Voting was a proud moment in their history and Iraqis took the opportunity to show their willingness to take risks on behalf of their nation.

Americans can be proud of our contribution to this achievement, although it comes as much in spite of American policy as in result of that policy. These elections were forced on the US by Grand Ayotollah Sistani. BushCheney wanted elections later in 2005. His plan would have given the insurgency another six months to fester and further undermine US political and military position in Iraq. BushCheney should thank his lucky stars that Sistani forced the earlier date. The situation has looked grim for a long time now. The election is a welcome antidote.

Today brings the euphoria of success. New hope for Iraq. A new beginning. But the election is a solitary event, it solves nothing by itself. The same problems remain. What the election does, however, is to bring the Iraqi people into the process. Their turnout demonstrates a political will that cannot and should not be ignored. If the new leadership can harness that will and restrain the animosities that have plagued the various tribes, clans and sects, then perhaps democracy has a chance in that country. It would be a welcome first in the region. A stable, lasting democracy would give real meaning to the American and Iraqi lives that have been sacrificed since March 2003.

Reading Iraqi history and contemporary Iraqi writers shows them to be intensely proud of their nation and their accomplishments. They see themselves as heirs to the great civilizations that flourished in Mesopotamia. And despite the tragedy and brutality of the Saddam Hussein years, Iraqis take pride in their development as a modern nation. Building a democratic society after decades of dictatorship would be another grand achievement for their culture This national pride and ambition are strong bases for building a new polity if Iraqis can reconcile the religious and ethnic differences that have divided them for centuries.

But regardless of the difficulties to come, the sight of Iraqis, dressed in their best clothes, children at their side, queuing up to vote is immensely heartening. The turnout may add a new dynamic to Iraqi politics. Sunnis may hesitate to attack their many countrymen who have chosen to participate in the political process, however flawed or tainted by the presence of foreign occupiers. Perhaps the relatively low violence of election day resulted from Sunni unwillingness to attack the Iraqi people so directly. If so, and combined with previous statements by Sunni leaders of their interest and willingness to participate in writing a new Iraqi constitution, Iraqis can find ways to live together in harmony. Maybe there is an exit, if not exactly a strategy, after all.

The sweet smell of success is a powerful drug. So is hope. America and BushCheney are flushed with that success today, able to show the world that we were right, after all. But, the election is only one step. Many more must follow to make today’s hope into reality. That is still a daunting task. Americans would do well to remember our last great success in Iraq, the one that BushCheney declared with the boastful claim of “Mission Accomplished.’ It didn’t turn out quite the way we expected.

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