Modified thoughts on the Iraqi election

I have been too negative, or rather insufficiently positive, about the Iraqi election in one sense: the fact that so many Iraqis wanted to vote, in many cases going to voting places despite terrorist bombings and threats of bombings, does show a desire on their part to build a new, self-governing order in Iraq. By their voting, they are in effect validating what President Bush has sought for them. I have been ungenerous in failing to see that.

However, their desire to build a self-governing order in Iraq does not mean that they have the practical capacity to do so. The election was only possible because of the massive presence of American troops protecting the society from its internal enemies, whom, as I have said about 200 times since the summer of 2003, we have not defeated and have no apparent plans or ability to defeat. What we have, at bottom, is the hope that somehow the insurgency will die out on its own. Perhaps that hope will be fulfilled, in which case President Bush’s policy will be, or will seem, a success.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 03, 2005 10:13 AM | Send