Democracy is the Goal - Not the Solution 

The Iraqi elections are fast approaching, and everyone is trying to make a statement about the possibility of success in Iraq after Jan. 30^th. Will the first real elections in Iraq in years be the beginning of the end for the "insurgency" (aka terrorism) in Iraq? As far as I'm concerned, that's the wrong question to ask.

The issue is with the mainstream media's obsessive need for results to be tangible and immediate. I probably shouldn't be so hard on MSM, for the American public is really just as bad in that regard. Jan. 31^st will be the critical date in their minds. It will come down to a numbers game. How many people will be killed by terrorists on that day. I don't even think it will matter if the number is somewhat less than on Jan. 29^th. If there are any attacks, then Democracy is not being successful there... or so many will claim.

In the longer run, people will look at the government created by the Iraqis and judge the success of democracy there by how friendly they are with us. But once again, that's not the point as Ruel Marc Gerecht's book The Islamic Paradox discusses (more at The Belmont Club):

...the march of democracy in the Middle East is likely to be very anti-American. Decades of American support to Middle Eastern dictators helped create bin Ladenism. Popular anger at Washington's past actions may not fade quickly, even if the United States were to switch sides and defend openly all the parties calling for representative government. Nationalism and fundamentalism, two complementary forces throughout most of the Middle East, will likely pump up popular patriotism. Such feelings always have a sharp anti-Western edge to them. That is what Professor Lewis called "the clash of civilizations." Fourteen hundred years of tense, competitive history is not easily overcome, but this antagonism can diminish.

The fact is that once an Iraqi government is in place, the could certainly kick us out. But in reality that's ok. The point is that they will make the decision as an elected people. The French under De Gaul did just that in the 60's... hell, the French in general can't stand us even today despite the fact that we saved their asses in WWII (and WWI for that matter)... yet the Spanish and German's aren't afraid of invasion from the French. Ok, maybe the French as a source of fear is a bad example, but you get the point.

The view by many, including the MSM, is that Democracy in Iraq is the solution to the terrorism problem. But not just that... they think that it is one solution of many possible solutions. Having a sadistic dictator in place which squashes all freedom in a country is just as acceptable to them if there is less terrorism because of it. To these people, Democracy is not seen as a worthwhile goal in and of itself. It's simply a means to another end. For an example, look how reporters viewed Saddam's elections several years ago, and contrast that with the current reports of the approaching elections.

"Seven years ago, when the last referendum took place, Saddam Hussein won 99.96 percent of the vote. Of course, it is impossible to say whether that's a true measure of the Iraqi people's feelings." - ABC reporter David Wright, World News Tonight, October 15, 2002.

"All 11,440,638 eligible voters went to the polls with one thought: Yes to Saddam Hussein! The government proclaimed it a victory of light over darkness, good over evil. It seemed more like a political miracle." - NBC reporter Keith Miller on Today, October 16, 2002.

Reading the current reports, people fear that if the Sunni's boycott the elections, the entire process will be considered illegitimate. Yet in the United States, our elections are considered very legitimate when only half the eligible population usually votes. In fact, it's considered an exercise in free speech not to vote in America. And if you listen to why some Sunni's are boycotting the election, it seems that they understand free speech than many liberals here in America.

Sadly, the only person who seems to really get it... that Democracy is goal in and of itself is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi:

"We have declared a bitter war against the principle of democracy and all those who seek to enact it," a speaker identified as Zarqawi said in an audio tape on the Internet.

"Those who vote... are infidels," he said.

The war according to him is not against the United States or anyone else. The war is with Democracy. He of all people gets it. Now isn't that ironic?