G
gilliam
Guest
Max Boot: “George Bush Talks Big, and He Delivers.”
No, the insurgency isn’t over. No, U.S. troops can’t come home yet. No, one election does not a democracy make. No, paradise has not dawned in Mesopotamia. Every caveat offered by the cautious is true. Yet even days later, all I can say is … wow!
For those of us who supported President Bush’s decision to liberate Iraq — and who, unlike some fair-weather friends, never wavered in our conviction that it was the right thing to do — there hasn’t been a lot of good news to celebrate since the capture of Saddam Hussein. And that was more than a year ago.
So you will forgive me if I savor Monday’s headlines: “Iraqi Turnout Trumps Violence”; “Security Effort Holds Insurgents Mostly at Bay”; “President Hails Election as a Success and a Signal.” Even more eloquent were the ubiquitous pictures of Iraqis giving terrorists the finger — literally — as they exhibited ink-stained index fingers showing they had voted.
I am not a weeper, but as I watched television coverage of the voting I found myself on the verge of tears. Tears of relief and jubilation and astonishment. The spectacle of millions of Iraqis braving bombs and bullets to cast ballots was awe-inspiring and humbling. It made me feel slightly ashamed about my own attitude toward voting. I, like many other citizens of well- established democracies, tend to view it as a chore, like taking out the garbage. Iraqis do not have the luxury of taking democracy for granted. They were dying to vote — and some in fact died in the act. But others stepped up into the voting booth anyway.
read the rest
latimes.com/news/columnists/la-oe-boot3feb03,1,7704654.column?ctrack=2&cset=true
No, the insurgency isn’t over. No, U.S. troops can’t come home yet. No, one election does not a democracy make. No, paradise has not dawned in Mesopotamia. Every caveat offered by the cautious is true. Yet even days later, all I can say is … wow!
For those of us who supported President Bush’s decision to liberate Iraq — and who, unlike some fair-weather friends, never wavered in our conviction that it was the right thing to do — there hasn’t been a lot of good news to celebrate since the capture of Saddam Hussein. And that was more than a year ago.
So you will forgive me if I savor Monday’s headlines: “Iraqi Turnout Trumps Violence”; “Security Effort Holds Insurgents Mostly at Bay”; “President Hails Election as a Success and a Signal.” Even more eloquent were the ubiquitous pictures of Iraqis giving terrorists the finger — literally — as they exhibited ink-stained index fingers showing they had voted.
I am not a weeper, but as I watched television coverage of the voting I found myself on the verge of tears. Tears of relief and jubilation and astonishment. The spectacle of millions of Iraqis braving bombs and bullets to cast ballots was awe-inspiring and humbling. It made me feel slightly ashamed about my own attitude toward voting. I, like many other citizens of well- established democracies, tend to view it as a chore, like taking out the garbage. Iraqis do not have the luxury of taking democracy for granted. They were dying to vote — and some in fact died in the act. But others stepped up into the voting booth anyway.
read the rest
latimes.com/news/columnists/la-oe-boot3feb03,1,7704654.column?ctrack=2&cset=true
