Iraqi courage

I want to express my admiration for those Iraqis who braved any number of obstacles to cast their votes on Sunday. I know that in many ways it was a deeply flawed election and we are likely to hear disconcerting stories about election related corruption and such. Nonetheless, that willingness to participate, that desire to have a say in their future, is, despite all the real problems in Iraq, a heartening display by ordinary Iraqis of physical courage joined with a much more rare moral courage. They risked the threat of death. And some of them were killed, and joined those already killed in this grueling ordeal. But they thought the right of political self-determination, even if it is now only a hope, was worth that risk. And that is heroic. It is the one bright spot in the last two disastrous years. Was it worth the cost? That is another question and one I cannot answer. But the fact is that we, and they, are already paying the cost and there is no way to reverse history. So I will take solace for now in the courage displayed by the Iraqi people.