Iraqis take courageous step toward freedom

By Ilana Freedman / Guest Columnist

Tuesday, February 1, 2005

The pictures of exuberant Iraqis dancing, laughing, and crying, as they crowded into the polling places and celebrated their first free election in 50 years, provided the world with an image of enormous power. How will we ever forget the radiant faces of men and women, young and old, proudly holding up their purple-stained index fingers, the proof that they had voted and a symbol of their new democracy!

It is difficult to grasp how incredibly short the time has been in which this beleaguered people has come so far. Less than two years ago, they were still suffering under the sadistic rule of Saddam Hussein. The joy of their liberation in Spring 2003 was quickly overshadowed by the rise of a new and terrible era of terrorism.

Yet on Sunday, January 30, 2005, Iraqis defied the threats of the terrorists, who promised a "bloodbath" for those who went to vote. With a deep determination to be responsible for their own future, some 8 million Iraqis came out to the polls, delivering a body blow to the terrorists who had threatened to disrupt the elections. It was a demonstration of the democratic process that bodes well for the future of a free and democratic Iraq.

We who live in America cannot begin to understand what it is like to live with the fear of terrorism every day -- being afraid to leave our homes, to send our children to school, or to go to work. So it is difficult for us to fully comprehend the breath-taking display of courage and determination that so many Iraqis showed in defying the terrorists' threats and risking their very lives to vote.

They recognize what many of us still do not see -- that the tyranny of a dictator and the tyranny of terrorism are equally evil and require the strength of a free nation to overcome.

Nevertheless, the election is the only the first step in a long and fragile process. The newly elected government will now have to craft a constitution, choose their leaders, train their police force, and take control of their country. This process will take many months, and Iraq's new leaders will need our help and support, because the terrorists will try to disrupt their efforts at every turn through continued intimidation, violence, and bloodshed, and with support from countries like Syria and Iran, and global organizations like al Qaeda.

I disagree with those who say that our policy in Iraq is failing. And with those who are calling for a clear exit strategy and timetable. The most dangerous thing we can do right now is to inform the enemy of our intentions to leave the battlefield. We can only put Iraqis at great risk by announcing our withdrawal plans at the moment of their national rebirth.

By giving terrorists a timetable for our withdrawal, we are also giving them the opportunity to rework their strategy based on our announced plans. We will be providing them with the opportunity to regroup and wait for our departure before mounting new and stronger attacks on the fledgling democracy. This is a modus operandi that we have seen many times in other places, notably in Gaza and the West Bank.

The results are always the same -- given the opportunity to plan and regroup, the terrorists always return in greater force with more advanced weaponry and intense resolve. The outcome is always the death of more civilians.

This is not a game the United States should play. We are facing an enemy that will stop at nothing to cause harm to our way of life, using the most barbaric methods to make their point, and showing total disregard for the lives of the innocent. It is the courage which we show as we confront this enemy that will determine the face of the world in the next hundred years.

Our soldiers have lived up to a proud tradition of defending liberty and the right to live in freedom. Those who have given their lives have not done so in vain. They have died for the same cause that so many before them have also given their lives for, the same noble principles of freedom and democracy upon which our nation was founded.

Iraq is not another Vietnam, as many have charged. And our policy has not failed. Of course, we have made mistakes, but our overall policy has created a new and better reality in Iraq. The people have spoken, for the first time in several generations, and they have spoken in a voice that is loud and clear -- they have chosen democracy.

This would never have occurred without America's strong political and economic support for the emergence of a democratic process in Iraq, and it would not have happened without the presence of a strong American military machine on the ground. I am proud to be a citizen in a country that is ready to do battle with such an enemy in order to keep our world safer.

What happens in Iraq over the coming months will be watched closely by the rest of the world. More important, it will be watched by the people of other Arab nations, whose own totalitarian governments restrict their freedoms and severely limit their choices. If Iraq is successful in its bid for democracy, it may only be a matter of time before the people of other countries in the Middle East begin to long for their own freedom.

What will have begun as a single milestone for Iraq, may well become the first paving stone in a pathway to freedom for the entire region.

(Ilana Freedman is a specialist in counter-terrorism and Managing Partner of Gerard Group International LLC. She welcomes your comments at ilana@gerardgroup.com.)

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