Archive: History is made: What one courageous man can do
December 15, 2005
The polls just closed in Iraq. All that remains is to count the ballots. Obviously, nobody knows the result -- time will tell what choice the world's newest democracy has made. But it was their choice, and that's the point, so let's take a moment to savor the moment and take stock of what has been accomplished here.
3 years ago, Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq with an iron fist and a demonstrated willingness to use everything from poison gas to industrial chippers to maintain power. His 2 heirs, the odious Uday and Qusay, still terrorized the country on his behalf, regularly dragging citizens off the street to be tortured and killed, and children out of school to be raped. No citizen dared to be heard voicing a contrary opinion to the government line.
What a difference in the last thousand or so days.
Today, Saddam Hussein is in the dock, trying to bluster his way out of a fair trial. His sons have been successfully hunted down and killed. A new constitution has been written by elected delegates, and, though we don't yet know who they will be, a new government has been elected to lead the country. An Arab democracy is born today, December 15th, 2005, in the heart of the Arab Middle East, the first of its kind ever, and on the ground of what used to be one of our most implacable foes. Before this even came about, the waves of freedom it has been producing have resulted in the surrender of WMD programs by neighbor Libya, and the so-called Cedar Revolution in Lebanon which forced the Baathist regime in Syria to withdraw from that country. After decades of talk, and wringing of hands, freedom is being actively brought to the Middle East, and it is working. To call this earth-shaking beggars that over-used phrase; this is a transformation of Biblical scale, and it is the result of one man's courage, one man's vision.
It is a testament to George Bush's still-unappreciated vision and courage that his opponents are STILL arguing savagely about WHY he started these wheels in motion, as the results go unnoticed. Hysterical rants continue to be undertaken complaining about not-yet-found WMDs, even as the globe's most dangerous and volatile region is slowly but surely made safe. Even in the rear-view mirror, there are many who will not see; Even as these unprecedented, transfiguring changes regularly slip into the history books, there are STILL those who do not appreciate the scale of what is happening -- one man with a vision of a finally free Middle East, and the courage to boldly pursue it in the face of near-monolithic opposition from the 'leaders' of the UN and the modern mass media, is doing what decades of world leaders have scarcely had the nerve to imagine: successfully bringing peace and freedom to the most troubled region of the planet.
topVisitors since Dec 1, 2005:
Copyright © 2005 by
batfink@orneryhorntoedvarmints.com
.
All rights reserved.
Revised: 05/19/08 08:06:54 -0400 .