Iraqi Miracle of Freedom Continues

Yesterday, Saturday, October 15, 2005 was another miraculous and historic milestone for freedom in Iraq and peace in the Middle East and the world.

Early reports show a strong turnout with the expectation that the constitution will be approved. A late compromise allowing the new parliament to further amend the constitution encouraged Sunni participation with some areas reporting an 80% turnout of that minority group which had previously governed Iraq unchallenged.

Even Fallujah, the former terrorist stronghold and a largely Sunni community had voter participation estimated at 65%.

Whatever the outcome, it's clear that the Iraqi people prefer a democracy which offers a choice leading to hope for a better future. They have come a very long way in a short period from the days when Saddam Hussein claimed legitimacy with a 99% "vote" in favor of his re-election as President.

You can see it in the faces of the Iraqi people:

The eyes of this woman show hope, but the face is worn from years of worry. Her ink stained finger points to the foreground and a future for her family and her country.

Symbolizing that hope for the future is this picture of man and woman who, like many other Iraqis, brought their children along to witness vote and a new day for their nation.

Iraqis are increasingly and effectively assuming the role for their own security and future as evidenced by these soldiers who voted and protected the polling places. Election related attacks were down more than 80% since the January election.

See more Iraq photos here.

It's been a long and difficult road, or as Secretary Rumsfeld called it: a "slog", to reach this latest milestone. And there will likely be additional downturns in the days and years ahead. But as chief bin Laden lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahri said in a recent letter to architect of evil, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq is the central front in the war between the darkness of the extreme caliphate and the peace and freedom of a democratic Iraq and Middle East.

Moving Forward, Looking Back: The Trial of Saddam Begins

The next step forward will be the first trial of Saddam Hussein, set to begin Wednesday, October 19. The first charge to be heard relates to the slaughter of approximately 140 civilians in Dujail, a predominantly Shia farming village 40 miles north of Baghdad. The massacre was ordered after shots were fired at Saddam's convoy as it drove through the village in 1982.

Up to fourteen additional charges may be prosecuted, possibly to include the evidence of genocide found at the site of mass graves in al Hatri.

One trench contains only women and children, apparently killed by small arms. Another contains only men, also killed by automatic gunfire.

Mr Kehoe said the women and children had been taken from their villages with their belongings, including pots and pans, shot - often in the back of the head - then bulldozed into the trench.

Some of the mothers died still holding their children. One young boy still held a ball in his tiny arms. A thick stench hangs over the site, as well as at a makeshift morgue nearby.

?The youngest fetus we have was 18 to 20 weeks old. Tiny bones, femurs, thighbones the size of a matchstick,?? says investigating anthropologist P. Willey.

Contrast the happy photos above with this face of the nightmare that was Iraq under Saddam. Hekeema Nagiy cries as she searches for the bodies of her two missing sons in mass graves discovered in Hilla. A photo documentation of this crime against humanity is here.

Whither the Naysayers?

One of the most difficult obstacles to achieving the victory in Iraq with it's subsequent benefits in the larger effort to gain peace and security is to overcome the undermining of that effort and the constant obstruction by unprincipled political opponents in the United States.

That effort continues.

In the runup to the first Iraqi vote on January 30, Democrats wheeled out Senator Edward Kennedy to make a major policy address condemning the failure of President Bush's Iraq policy. In that speech, he said Americans are "losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people" and "the U.S. military presence has become part of the problem, not part of the solution." He went on to call our involvement in Iraq's liberation a "shame and stain on America's good name as a beacon of human rights."

Days later, eight million Iraqi people voted in a free and fair election.

This time around, Al Gore drew the short stick. In a speech at an economic forum in Sweden he was asked how America would be different had he been elected (or successful in suppressing military ballots from among Florida voters). "We would not have invaded [Iraq] a country that didn't attack us," he said.

Gore, and many other Democrats including Kennedy, are still counting on the short term memory of Americans regarding some of what he said about Iraq when Clinton was in Office:

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is using and developing weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002.

Answering the Democrat obstruction machine is an Iraqi reader at Little Green Footballs:

This vote alone was a great blow to the terrorists in Iraq. This was a great step towards a solid democracy in Iraq. The constitution now guarantees Iraqi's rights and protects them from their government. The rule of law will prevail stronger now. I no longer fear for my Iraqi family from their government. They now truly hold their destiny in their hands, and they can plan for their future. The security issues are being dealt with on a daily basis and progress in Iraq is measurable and evident.

Again the Ajinas in California and in Iraq owe a great thank you to the men and women of the USA (military & civilians) who are making all of this possible. Thank you for all your sacrifices, all your hard work, and your tenacity and vision and thank you for a bright future.

Regards,
Haider Ajina

Freedom. It's a beautiful thing!

Ask an Iraqi what he or she thinks of our Iraq policy!