A really excellent new post by Michael Yon is here.

First, congratulations to Michael Yon for winning Best Media Blog in the 2005 Weblog Awards.

The latest entry in Michael Yon’s Online Magazine is a great piece of video on Election Day in Iraq.

The Iraqi elections were a big success, to judge by the numbers of voters that showed up at the polls, including the selfsame Sunnis who had boycotted the last election. In fact, many of the polls at which Sunnis voted were secured by Saddamist Sunni guerillas to protect voters from their al-Qaeda fellow travellers, who had, in advance, proclaimed that anyone who took part in the democratic process would be branded infidels and treated accordingly.

Many “experts” completely ignore these developments and say that Iraq is engaged in a civil war. Well, there aren’t a whole lot of civil warriors over there, the insurgency by actual Iraqis, while perhaps larger than the number of so-called foreign fighters, is still a drop in the bucket compared to the millions of pro-democracy Iraqis.

Then there are those who claim that there is no chance of Iraq ever achieving democracy, “because it isn’t the way of such people, they have lived under the rule of dictators and monarchs for too many centuries and it is all they know.”

Well, it would appear that the Iraqi people let their fingers do the talking — the purple ones, that is, cheerfully and enthusiastically.

They have shown that they welcome the opportunity of self government, that they cherish the right to speak freely(as evidenced by all of the newspapers that have appeared in the wake of the Hussein regime’s demise), and that their courage is up to the task of fighting for their freedom.

Prior to the elections,

One anecdote from Mosul,” said General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when he spoke at the National Defense University earlier this month. “There was a police recruiting station. Forty young men lined up to sign up to become Iraqi policemen. A vehicle-borne IED explodes — kills or badly injures 12 of them. The next day, the 28 remaining return to the same spot to sign up to be policemen.

“And that kind of courage,” the general told his audience, “is being shown across Iraq by literally thousands and thousands of Iraqis who want to serve their country.”

After the elections,

The basic gist: Iraqis were pleased as punch to be able to choose whomever they wanted to run their country.

So now we’re there, we’re at the point in Iraq that they have established the government that will lead them for the next four years, a government by the people, of the people and for the people(wish I’d said that). We’ve helped establish an educational system that is already teaching thousands of knowledge hungry children, including girls, who might otherwise have never had the opportunity to learn and we’re training their army and police to carry on after our troops have been pulled out.

We are successfully engendering a democracy where there was none in the Arab world, despite overt and covert resistance by many of Iraq’s neighbors, and in so doing starting a chain reaction that must certainly lead to positive political changes throughout the region, changes that will inevitably be of benefit to our own national security.

We saw the future the terrorists intend for our nation on that fateful morning of September the 11th, 2001. That day we learned that vast oceans and friendly neighbors are no longer enough to protect us. September the 11th changed our country; it changed the policy of our government. We adopted a new strategy to protect the American people: We would hunt down the terrorists wherever they hide; we would make no distinction between the terrorists and those who harbor them; and we would advance our security at home by advancing freedom in the Middle East.

Our President is right(yes, he is, thank God, both ways), and despite the anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-America, anti-American way rantings of the Angry Left, who couldn’t care less that we’ve freed a nation from a murderous, oppressive tyrant and planted the seed of democracy in a region that spawns the worst possible enemies of the American way of life, are more concerned with their hatred of the Chief Executive(he won, you see, beat both straw man Algore and traitor Kerry, so they are very angry, indeed) than they are with less important issues like homeland security and freedom for the citizens of countries ruled by people who would make Idi Amin Dada look benevolent.

George W. Bush is 100% correct. We must stay the course in order to give the Iraqi people a chance to get their democracy sorted out, now that they have voted.

Sure, we have politicians like Durbin, Dean and Kerry committing verbal treason, making statements that would cause them to disappear in the kind of country they would have the United States become, their words serving only to embolden our enemy and get more U.S. military people killed, but that’s of no concern to them: They can blame the results of their crimes on the Bush Administration in an effort to further their own careers while concealing their own complicity.

These are true scumbags, traitors whose only concerns are their own political fortunes, who are elected and reelected by morons and both witting and unwitting fellow traitors. These followers, those who march to their baseless ideals and bumper sticker slogans are simpletons, cowards, gullible fools, pseudointellectuals and fellow wannabe socialists. People who either haven’t a clue as to how good they’ve got it as Americans or who would prefer life under a regime more in tune with Karl Marx than with Samuel Adams.

The cartoon-like, fanatic rantings of self-seeking politicians like Kerry and Dean or lying moonbats like Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan are actually palatable to these poor, stupid souls, the anti-American, anti-life and anti-God policies of organizations like the ACLU their sources of “spiritual” nourishment, their well received anti-Christ, their life’s message anti-based. They want to destroy the most precious political philosophy-cum-reality in the history of the earth and don’t even know why, or that they are even trying to do so.

Iraq is the focal point of a great battleground whose alternative may well be the road to Armageddon(and here I am, a Jew whose religious beliefs end with the Old Testament), not that which ends the New Testament, but one which could well culminate in catastrophes whose effects could easily make even the least religious among us wish for the Biblical version.

Michael Rubin’s Op-Ed in today’s WSJ Online is as definitive as one can get on the influence of Iraq’s new democracy upon the rest of the Arab world.

The coalition’s ouster of Saddam may have created a template for change, but it is Iraqis who have pressed forward to hold not only Saddam, but also subsequent politicians, to account. On June 28, 2004, Coalition Provisional Authority administrator L. Paul Bremer appointed Iyad Allawi as interim prime minister. Mr. Allawi, a former Baathist, was a favorite of the U.S., British and Jordanian intelligence services. He projected an image of strong leadership to an Iraqi audience craving security. He promised to jumpstart reconstruction. But he failed. Corruption exploded. Iraqis blamed his empowerment of senior Baathists for the spread of insurgency and decline in security. Furthermore, he treated U.S. diplomats, not Iraqis, as his most important constituency. He campaigned surrounded by American security agents. Iraqis had enough. On Jan. 30, millions braved bombs to bounce him from office. Even with the trappings of incumbency–media coverage and a bully pulpit for his campaign–he barely mustered 14%. As Egyptians, Libyans, Tunisians and Syrians watched with envy, Iraqis held a failed incumbent to account.

They will do it again tomorrow. Like Mr. Allawi, current Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari has failed. Local humor is telling. A popular Baghdad joke tells of how he walks into his office to find a rooster, dog and donkey. “I’m here to wake you up so you can do your job,” the rooster crows. “I’m here to provide security,” the dog barks. “Why are you here?” Jaafari asks the donkey. “I don’t know. I’m no different from you,” the donkey brays.

Read the entire story here.

This RightMarch alert arrived yesterday, but as I was working to overcome technical difficulties that weren’t solved to the extent I was assured they were, and posting this alert involved reinforcing all the links herein, I am only now getting it published:

Alert: On December 15, the people of Iraq will do what no American should ever have to contemplate. They will risk their lives to vote. For the third time this year, the brave people of Iraq will go to the polls to determine their future. This time they will do so to elect a new government under the constitution that they approved in an October referendum.

On January 30, 2005, AP photographer Andrew Parsons took an iconic photo of an Iraqi woman flashing a “V” for victory after she voted:

http://www.rightmarch.com/images/iraq3.jpg

Her finger, stained purple by poll workers to show that she voted, became a symbol of defiance to the terrorists, a symbol of pride, and a symbol of freedom.

Last January, 10 year-old Shelby Dangerfield from Montana demonstrated her solidarity with the freedom-loving Iraqis by inking her finger:

http://www.rightmarch.com/images/shelby.jpg

Join Bill Bennett, Sean Hannity, Martha Zoller and other radio hosts who are encouraging Americans to follow her example by asking them to ink their right index finger purple from December 12-15 to show support for the freedom loving people of Iraq as they prepare to vote on December 15th.

Here are some other things you can do to show support for a free Iraq:

* From December 12-15, ink your right index finger purple or wear a purple ribbon.

* Encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to do the same.

* Email photos of yourself flashing your “Purple Finger ‘V’ for Victory in Iraq” to Pictures@PurpleFingerForFreedom.Org for posting to the PurpleFingerForFreedom.Org web site.

* Visit PurpleFingerForFreedom.Org

* Encourage local schools to download the Purple Finger for Freedom Model Lesson plan from PurpleFingerForFreedom.Org and ask teachers to teach a current events class about the upcoming Iraqi election based on it.

“Look at how long it took us to move from independence to the Constitution. Well, let’s see 1776 would be a good place to start with independence. It was 1788 before we had our first election under the constitution. So, we should take such pride in what’s going on in Iraq because it was the process we’ve gone, we went through as a new nation that has set a model for the world. And the Iraqi people of course we should very proud and supportive of what they’re doing, but we should notice that it is the American example that has led people to the idea of constitutions all around the world, the idea that you need a plan of government, a framework for governing. And, gosh, it makes me almost want to be a teacher, you know, on December 15th to be in classrooms across this country and talking to kids about what’s happening in Iraq and how our own history is reflected in it.”
–Mrs. Lynne Cheney
Diane Rehm National Radio Show
November 30, 2005

Let’s show the world that freedom loving peoples are united.

* Post the “SHOW SUPPORT for FREE IRAQIS” graphic below on your website with a link to PurpleFingerForFreedom.Org:

http://www.purplefingerforfreedom.org/images/Index/freeiraq.gif

* Email support@purplefingerforfreedom.org to tell them that you want to be listed on PurpleFingerForFreedom.Org as a Supporting Organization.

Thanks for your support!

The Ad Hoc Committee in Solidarity with Free Iraqis PurpleFingerForFreedom.Org

P.S. Be sure to forward this Alert to EVERYONE you know who wants to help support this giant move towards democracy in Iraq. Thank you!

Sincerely,

William Greene, President
RightMarch.com

The work of RightMarch.com is funded entirely by voluntary contributions. Help us spread the word with a donation to RightMarch.com!
https://secure.responseenterprises.com/rightmarch/?a=7

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, an Op-Ed by U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Robert Kimmitt gives a solid, well defined analysis of the state of the Iraqi economy today with a forecast for the future.

Only a year-and-a-half after regaining its full sovereignty, Iraq is laying the groundwork for a self-sustaining, market-based economy which can serve as an engine of growth for that nation and for the broader Middle East. While the world’s attention has been focused on security and political developments, Iraqi authorities have been working steadily to reverse decades of economic decline — which under Saddam Hussein was marked by triple-digit inflation, crushing debt and rising poverty. And as President Bush made clear Wednesday, we have a strong stake in helping the Iraqi people succeed in achieving their economic potential.

Liberals, ignore it as usual, there’s nothing in there that attacks the Bush Administration. Right thinkers and other open minded readers, read the rest of the article here.

Raven at And Rightly So! has posted an excellent list of positive accomplishments in Iraq that MSM venues like the New York Times and other liberal “news” sources flat out ignore because, though it’s important for Americans to know about them, these treasonous, pitiful scumbags would rather lie to the public via omission than show that President Bush’s liberation of the Iraqi people is bearing fruit.

It really pisses me off that institutions that are trusted by the American people to keep them informed of current events are blatantly bullshitting the public, using that trust as a propaganda tool to try to make a sitting President look bad and to push a leftist agenda that doesn’t even remotely resemble the concepts that founded the United States of America and made this nation great.

Anyway, here is Did You Know….    

On the DOD’s website today appeared an article posted yesterday by the American Forces Press Service titled,

Americans Can’t Neglect Signs of Progress In Iraq

Americans cannot forget the progress being made in Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said from Jerusalem today.

Rice took time off from her trip to the Middle East to speak to Fox News Channel. She said Americans cannot ignore the political and military successes in Iraq.

“I would say to the American people, ‘Yes, this is very hard and very difficult, but we are making a lot of progress in what will be a strategic breakthrough for the United States, which is to have a different kind of Middle East”’ Rice said.

Recent polls show support for operations in Iraq is dropping among the American people. Casualty lists, car bombs and suicide bombers dominate the news, but Rice said there are clear signs of progress. Among them is the capture of “the Emir of Mosul” — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s lieutenant Abu Talha.

The Iraqi forces are growing in numbers and sophistication, Rice said. Iraqi forces took the lead in security for the January elections, for example. Since then, Iraqi forces have taken on increasing security burdens. The 40th Grigade of the Iraqi army handles security for much of Baghdad. Marines participating in Operation Spear in Karabila are operating with Iraqi forces.

The Iraqi security forces now consist of about 170,000 trained and equipped soldiers and police. As those forces grow and gain experience, the security responsibility for coalition forces will shrink, Rice said. 

We’ve been doing increasing damage to the terrorists over there as our troops and their commanders become increasingly more experienced at fighting the kind of fight they face, and the Iraqi forces have the benefit of being trained by the best soldiers in the world.

The Iraqis have demonstrated their enthusiasm for living in a free country by starting up hundreds of newspapers they can now sell without being tortured for their views, electing their government in a democratic election and fighting the terrorists aggressively alongside coalition members as soldiers for their country. They are rebuilding their country in an image of democracy.

Read the article here.

In my opinion, any waning of support for our enterprise in Iraq is the result of the MSM’s one-sided reporting. Somehow, these “journalists” always seem to be looking in a different direction when something positive occurs, but they never miss a negative event and when one happens, they put the worst possible accent on it. When G.I.s are killed, they positively crow about it and when they provide a tally of casualties to date, they sound like they’re bragging about points they’ve made in some game they are playing.

That’s about the size of it, a game, friends. A game of politics in which the stakes could well be our lives and the partisan Mainstream Media hacks could care less, because their priority is discrediting George W. Bush, not the wellbeing of their fellow Americans, world peace nor even feeding the world’s hungry, despite their claims to the contrary. These are educated people delivering the news to the majority of American voters, and there’s no way anyone with even Jethro Bodine’s level of education could fail to see the importance to our own survival of what we’re doing in Iraq.

For some reason, when I think of all those dems following the MSM’s stories and treating them as gospel, I think of….well…. Lemmings…. 

**** As is usually the case with DOD site links, there is a redirect to their main news page. The linked article is the sixth one down. 

Underneath the lead-in to the article is another link, to an article titled, Rice Urges Patience As Democracy Emerges .

Both are under “More Defense News”.

Over at FOXNews Online, there’s a link from the home page to a video report on the Iraq Stock Exchange(ISX). To summarize the report,

The exchange has been open for eleven months, and in that time their sales volume has fully tripled. There are more than 100 companies currently listed.

In the first seven months, fourteen billion shares were traded and the increase since has been “exponential”. The thing that really makes this newsworthy is that the ISX is only open five hours a week, yet Iraqi citizens are turning out in droves to invest in their country’s future.

To date, they have been employing a marker and wallboard system, like Nevada race and sports books did before they went electronic, to keep track of trades, but a modern high tech exchange is being built and will soon be ready for the ISX to relocate there.

Watch the video. You’ll be on Fox’s home page, go to the right sidebar and click on Business, then on Iraq Stock Exchange.

Thank God for FOX News,  they’re one of very few media outlets without a tenacious liberal agenda, rather an eye toward the conservative point of view, without whom we would never read any news that might hint that something positive actually happened as a result of something George W. Bush set in motion.