Some Thoughts On Tomorrow's Election

With elections in Iraq only a day away, I think it is important to reiterate some points that all of us should keep in mind in the coming days:

• The elections tomorrow are not going to be perfect and they're not going to be without violence, but delaying the elections will only increase the amount of violence the next time around, for the terrorists in Iraq will get the message that the election was delayed because of their actions.
• The fact that some Sunni areas might decide to boycott or just not participate does not mean the elections are illegitimate. In times of war and conflict it is common that not all of the afflicted area participates, including the south during our Civil War. You don't hear people calling Abraham Lincoln's reelection illegitimate, and neither should we call Iraqi elections illegitimate if some Baathist Sunnis decide not to participate.
• The terrorists in Iraq are losing. Zarqawi's network is slowly being rolled up and the noose is tightening around his own neck as well. Though some might say that there are too many casualties being inflicted on innocent Iraqis and American soldiers for us to be winning, the simple fact is that we are killing much more of them than they are killing us. I shudder to think how today's liberal establishment would treat casualties in WWII, for this kind of defeatism would have seriously jeopardized our efforts.
• The elections tomorrow will not mean the end of violence, but it will mark the beginning of the end for those few who are seeking to prevent Iraq from ever realizing the dream of freedom. A popularly elected government in Iraq will send the message once and for all that the days of Saddam and Baathist brutality are over, that a new dawn is rising over Iraq and the greater Middle-East, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

To conclude this post, I submit to you some thoughts posted at NRO's "The Corner" from an American soldier stationed in Iraq, who sums up what will happen tomorrow far better than I can:

It is now dusk in Baquba, a city that lies thirty-five miles Northeast of Baghdad, along the edge of the Sunni Triangle. The streets are quiet. Vehicular traffic has been banned today, a curfew is due to come into effect soon after dark. Mothers hurry home from the markets. Children scurry to keep up with them. Election posters cling to the walls and streetlights. The city is filled with expectations. The vast majority of the people realize what is at stake here. They are ready to cast their ballots tomorrow, to elect representatives who will govern them and craft a new constitution for their nation. They are eager to write a new chapter in the history of their country. Meanwhile, the enemies of freedom lurk in the dark alleyways of this city. Domestic and foreign terrorists lie in wait. They fear not only the outcome of the vote, but the very process itself. They want to halt the inexorable march of freedom. They may try to disrupt the voting. No matter what happens tomorrow, they are doomed to failure in the long run. The elections will take place, the citizens of Baquba will cast their ballots. The transformation of Iraq is about to commence. Still, this is not the end of the beginning; nor the beginning of the end; it is the beginning of the beginning. Sunday will mark the first step on the long road to political and moral recovery in Iraq – and in the region. When the sun rises, the people will speak.