As I sit down to write this, it is 13 hours until the polls open in Iraq. Many have talked about what it will mean to the Middle East and North African Arab (and Persian) nations as the "street" sees the poitical freedom they have been denied by their governments take root. Certainly the huge gamble undertaken by the Bush Administration lives or dies by its ability to be transformative. But how does the spectacle in Iraq affect those of us in the US and the West in general where we take the ability to vote freely and without harrassment for granted. The press gave short shrift to the elections in Afghanistan where people came out to vote despite being threatened with bodily harm and death by anti-Democratic Islamic terrorists. But they can not, and have not ignored the elections in Iraq. So I wonder, as the epic drama unfolds on our televisions and in our newspapers and computer monitors, if free peoples everywhere wonder what they would do if the simple act of voting threatened their life or that of their families. Do they wonder if they would have the courage to go to the polls? Do our politicians wonder if they would be so quick to run for office if the threat of assaination were constant? I admit to thinking about these things as I see what has occurred in Afghanistan and now Iraq where murderous power-hungry sociopaths threaten and murder to quell the "permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul" that is political freedom. Do the free peoples in the world think about how precious and fragile their liberties are? Do they sense, deep down, that the simple act of voting, a right which has been paid for in blood, is something more than just an inconvenient duty. Do the roughly 50% of eligible voters in this country who ignore the political process altogether feel just a little guilty? Perhaps the drama of elections in Iraq will not only ignite a desire for political freedom in places where regimes deny it, but also cause some to reexamine that which they take for granted. Because even the dimmest of us must realize that there is a difference between avoiding the polls due to apathy, and avoiding them because you fear for your life.
The anti-Democratic forces in the Press do all they can to convey the impression that the most dire conditions are present in Iraq even to the point of manufacturing images that will reinforce the narrative. Certainly voting will be dangerous, but the more the press exaggerates the danger, the more heroic the ordinary Iraqi will appear if voter turnout his high. And how high is high enough for the results to be considered legitimate? Considering that we in the US get around 50% participation generally, with 60% participation in the last election considered darn good, it would seem that some think it has to be better in Iraq than here, which is, of course, silly. The anti-Democratic elements in our Press will also cover every individual who is pessimistic about Iraq and US foreign policy in general even to the point of misrepresenting who it is they are interviewing. Giving undue coverage to unserious politicians and academics doesn't help the situation either. And, of course, they will amplify any Iraqi politician who will reinforce the narrative they have decided represents reality.
But as the minutes count down to the most historic event in the region, with all security measures in place, we take a minute to cast our eye about and realize that the voting has already begun. And those of us who applaud the hegemony of freedom, celebrate.
Japan pitches in as relief teams fan out and begin work in Indonesia's Aceh province. As the talks between the Indonesian government and rebels progress in Helsinki, the focus is on relief efforts not politics, which to my mind bode well that they have their priorities straight. Such is not the case over in Thailand where countries are arguing over who will host the new tsunami warning system. Meanwhile, actress Sharon Stone is championing an effort to fight malaria though not with DDT; that would probably be a little too much for Hollywood sensitivies. And unusual events "unheard of in the history of seismology" have been recorded in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, with more than 120 such events being recorded since the December 26 earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale. Uh oh....
Elections in Iraq, relief efforts in Southeast China, unrest in Sudan, the possibility of a politiical accord in Israel, are all in the news today yet look at the number of stories that Vice-President Cheney's attire at the Auschwitz ceremony generated. CBS: "The vice president looked like an awkward child amid the well-dressed adults." And we are to consider these people serious observers of world events?
Charges of conspiracy to provide support to al Qaeda and Hamas are filed in the Eastern District of New York against Sheik Mohammed Ali Hasan al-Moayad and Mohammed Mohsen Yahya Zayed. Both men were arrested in Germany two years ago and extradicted to the US.
A man who confessed to prior knowledge of the 9/11 attacks, arrested on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in October, 2001 and held in the Guantanamo Bay facility since, was released to Austrailia where he was promptly released. "His first priority is to get reacquainted with his family." Well that's nice. Meawhile, Islamists recruit in Angola.
The first flight between China and Taiwan in 56 years takes off.
The UN supports Hamas. But don't dis the UN or the rabid left will verbally torture you.
A billboard blitz “thanking” Hollywood for the reelection of President Bush will be unveiled early next week.
A public defender is fighting for topless sunbathers. OK, so maybe there are some good lawyers.
