Large Turnout Reported as Iraqis Vote Under Tight Security

Whether you are one with a positive outlook on the war in Iraq, willing to accept US casualties as a price for freedom and good will, or have a negative opinion on a war you call "based on lies" and view each soldiers death as a waste of human life, one thing is for sure today. Iraqis voted and voted in large numbers. A step towards the freedom of the people of Iraq? Maybe. But if it brings Iraq a step closer to a security tight enough to allow our soldiers to return to their families, it should be celebrated.

Iraqis voted in a historic parliamentary election Thursday, with strong turnout reported in Sunni Arab areas that had shunned balloting last January, bolstering U.S. hopes of calming the insurgency enough to begin withdrawing its troops.

Will the Middle East ever become a peaceful region that can learn to dislike Israel, America and Western culture without trying to blow it up? I don't think we'll see it in our lifetime. But maybe, with this vote, we've planted some seeds of tolerance and showed at least one nation that terrorism, whatever the cause, is not the resolution to disagreements and nothing more than a tarnish on Islam and the culture of its followers.

Maybe the people of Iraq will begin to understand that you can dislike a country's foreign policy, dislike the attitude of the majority of a nations masses but still co-exist on the same planet as they do without turning to violence and harmful wishes that cause outbreaks of celebration when said country undergoes a tragedy. Maybe the people of Iraq will see how a nations people could disagree with their own governments policies and still, have no control over it. Maybe the Iraqi people will come to understand that the American people, the majority of the American people, want nothing more than to live a peaceful life without having someone slam a plane into their office building at 9am or blow themselves up on the subway during an already miserable morning commute.

I have nothing against the Arabic nations (except Iran, they're pissing me off). I don't wish harm to the Pakistanis or the Saudi Arabians. Do I agree with their beliefs? Nope. Do I think living a life based on religious law is a positive way to run a country? Not at all. Do I think women should have the right to drive? Um...Well...Next question. Do I lump all Iranians into a bowl of Islamic fury ready to boil over and attack the globe? No, I don't blame the Iranian people for the words of their President. I wouldn't want anyone blaming me for President Bush.

My point is this. The vote in Iraq today marks something. It may not be complete victory, it isn't. It may not mark a truly democratic country's birth and it may not mean peace in the region. But it does mark the accomplishment of something that militants in the region swore to stop. It's a victory against militant Islam who, when you cut the PC talk and the fear of calling a spade a spade in this country, is the real enemy of people everywhere in these days.

I'm glad the Iraqis voted. I'm glad the democratic process, while maybe not happily embraced, at least had its chance today. Now the Iraqis will come to understand one thing about America. No matter who you vote for, no matter what candidate stands up and becomes the leader of the nation, they all care about one thing. Money. It's up to you to make yourself a better life. And try to do so without killing anyone.