What Would You Do?

Would you vote?

If you were threatened with murder for the sin of voting, would you vote? In a country where we see bombings of police stations and schools, you would know with certainty that the threat was meant in a very real sense. While we have, tragically and painfully, made mistakes in this war where innocent people have died, the terrorists in Iraq target those innocent people daily.

Let's be honest, while they enjoy killing American soldiers, they've found it much easier to kill Iraqi nationals.

Would you vote? Would you risk your parents, your spouse, and your children for the opportunity to play a part in the election?

That, of course, is the decision facing the country: what individuals are willing to risk to have a voice in their own government. And, undoubtedly, there will be bloodshed and there will be violence. It will be localized in just a few regions, but it will be horrific.

Sadly, I'll be surprised if there isn't a few major stories of gunmen, suicide bombers, or mortar and rocket attacks that kill scores of voters, soldiers, and police. God knows I hope I'm wrong, but stopping terrorists is a nasty task. You can manage to stop 99 attacks either through intelligence or good planning, but the one that sneaks through is the one that does the damage.

It's been said before, but it's worth repeating: we have to be right 100% of the time; they just have to get lucky once.

So, would you vote?

Remember, even if you survive the day, the American military is going to leave some day. The hope and the belief is that a stable government with its own police force will be able to maintain order and that a more liberal government with its own constitution will satisfy the necessity of a free society for open elections and the bloodless transfer of power. Living in the Middle East makes it an honest question as to whether any of that can be achieved in the same way that it's easy to be skeptical about long-lasting governments throughout most of Africa.

If the new government can't maintain control, or if it becomes a petty little dictatorship like Hussein's, then what safety does an Iraqi feel when the gunmen come looking for the people who took part in the election?

It doesn't have to be that way, and I do believe that the coalition can be successful given resources, will, and determination, but that in the average Iraqi's mind the outlook might be quite different. Outside of doing our best to stamp out the terrorists, one of the most important tasks facing the coalition is finding a way to instill hopefulness in Iraqis. They need to know that we won't abandon them to civil war or a new dictator, and they need to be assured that our ambitions and hopes for them don't end with this election.

I hope and pray that the day passes without serious incident and that there are enough voters to lend legitimacy to the election. The Iraqis have an opportunity to start shaping their own freedom, and the brave and the bold only take that opportunity.

Read the story.

Posted by zombyboy at January 27, 2005 10:36 AM