The vote in Iraq has apparently gone off very well, with minimal violence. Omar at Iraq the Model is encouraged:
The turnout in our district looks quiet good and actually going to the voting office was a good opportunity to meet some friends I haven’t seen in months.
I met one friend on the way and when I asked him what would his vote be he said that he hasn’t decided yet “if I voted yes I would be approving some articles that I don’t agree with and if I voted no we would go back to where we started from…” he said and that was really refreshing because this guy who used to believe in conspiracy theories and stuff like “what America wants is what’s going to happen” now feels that his vote can make a difference.Generally speaking, the process is going smoothly so far and this is encouraging because terrorists usually concentrate their attacks before noon so hopefully it will continue like this for the rest of the day.
Roger Simon has a time line of events from the invasion up until today's vote, and it is instructive:
Because the mainstream media has done its best to hypnotize the public into believing the "failure" of the American democracy project in Iraq, it is worth comparing some dates:
Operation Iraqi Freedom - began March 19, 2003
Election to ratify constitution for a democratic Iraq - October 14, 2005That's two years and seven months.
He compares this with the more than 10 years form the Declaration of independence to our Constitution.
The Iraqi vote is likely to be seen as a milestone on the way to humanizing the previously moribund, death-worshiping, stultifying Middle East and its surround. There are more positive signs showing up on the periphery, well worth noting.
Afghanistan recognising Israel: LAHORE: Afghanistan has decided to recognise the State of Israel, ARY news channel reported on Friday.
The channel, while quoting the Afghan government’s diplomatic sources, said that the Karzai administration has finally decided to recognise Israel. The government’s vital decision will pave the way for other Muslim countries such as Pakistan to follow suit, the channel added. The official announcement of the recognition will be made in the next few days, the channel said.
Karzai first, followed by Musharraf, who is one courageous man. Once Pakistan, the second largest Muslim nation in the world recognizes Israel, it will be much harder for the Muslim world to continue to support the demonization of Israel which has been such an important factor in their stagnation. The Arab world is having difficulty coming into the 21st century, but the non-Arab Muslim world may be showing signs of readiness to leave the 8th century to join the rest of the world in the present.
Syria is at a crossroads:
The Bush Administration has offered Syria’s beleaguered President a “Gaddafi deal” to end his regime’s isolation if Damascus agrees to a long list of painful concessions, a senior American official told The Times.
Syria has been told they need to cooperate fully with the UN investigation of Hariri's death, any regime members implicated would have to be made available for questioning and trial, and they need to stop interfering in Lebanon. Even more significant are the final points:
Washington also wants Syria to halt the recruiting, funding and training of volunteers for the Iraqi insurgency, which they claim are openly operating in Syria with the connivance of the regime.
They include former members of the Iraqi regime and foreign volunteers responsible for suicide car-bomb attacks.
The Bush Administration also has a long-standing demand that Syria cease its support for terrorist Islamic organizations such as Lebanon’s Hizbullah and the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
In return America would establish full and friendly relations with Damascus, opening the way for foreign aid and investment and ensuring the regime’s survival.
If Syria removes itself from the Iranian sphere of influence, Iran will effectively have no more allies in the neighborhood. They will still be assisted by our "friends" in Russia, France, and Germany, but allies of those countries have had a resounding lack of success in the last few years.
There is more reason for optimism and hope now than at any time since 9/11, and that is Good News.
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