The said that Afghanistan would be a quagmire. They were wrong.  They said that invading Iraq would cause an "unrelenting wave of terrorists attacks on US soil" they were wrong.  They said that an invasion of Iraq would cost "half a million civilian deaths" they were wrong.

And most recently that the US was losing the hearts and minds of Iraqis. That turn-out in the the Iraqi election would be low because people didn't have faith in the system.  And they were wrong again.

72% of Iraqi's came out to vote.  That's far higher, as a percentage, than the number of Americans who came out to vote in the last election. You remember that recent American election? The one where you should "vote for die"? That we had to vote to get the "smirking chimp" and his "Haliburton paid cronies" out of office? Perhaps if those who have such great fear of "the chimp" had managed to have a 72% turn-out they could have indeed gotten a President Kerry who, even now, would be setting up a time-table to torn and flee from Iraq.

The people whose motto seems to be "When danger reared its ugly head we bravely turned and fled" really have a fundamental issue they need to work through.  They need to have faith in humanity.  In each of these cases the believe that we or those we support are inhuman monsters or, at best, are incapable of success. 

I didn't know for certainty that Iraqis would come out and vote.  I had been so fed the propaganda that Iraqi's wouldn't go to the polls because of intimidation. That many were boycotting the polls. That violence would make it a blood bath (there were 12 deaths from violence -- about the same number who died due to the aborted suicide in California last week).  So I had some misgivings.

But 72%! Holy cow that's a real affirmation that the Iraqi people want democracy. That they want self-determination.  Perhaps...Perhaps the doomsayers will finally see the light and have a little faith that maybe..just maybe the Iraqi people want freedom.  Ah, now I'm being naive..