While Iraqis are joyfully casting their ballots in a democratic election in the heart of the Middle East, many on the left side of the political spectrum do not share these positive sentiments. From the BBC:

But nothing today would stop the people from voting. …

Men and woman came, many carrying small children, and in the street outside the school they formed silhouettes, in swirls of dust on a warm autumn day in Baghdad.

One voter said: “This is stability, at last”.

Another, with tears in his eyes, told me: “This is the beginning of a new Iraq. I am so happy.”

Iraqis are known for their spontaneous, and often poetic eloquence.

Ali al-Musawi, a Shia Muslim originally from Sadr city said: “Iraq is like a ship in a storm being tossed form left to right, and now we need a new captain to take us to land and to safety.”

One man hoped the election would bring an end to the occupation, but this would depend, he said, on maintaining unity.

“Stability can only come from unity. When we have stability,” he said,” then the Americans can go.”

Democrats like John Murtha and Howard Dean babble inanities about a “new war strategy,” but they have nothing new to offer. Dean, true to his howl-and-screech form, is already stepping back from previous criticism of the Bush Administration:

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Thursday his assertion that the United States cannot win the war in Iraq was reported “a little out of context,” saying Democrats believe a new U.S. strategy is needed to succeed there.

Seeking to clarify a statement in a Texas radio interview that Republicans harshly assailed and some Democrats questioned, Dean said, “They kind of cherry-picked that one the same way the president cherry-picked the intelligence going into Iraq.”

Dean was questioned on CNN about an interview he gave Monday to radio station WOAI in San Antonio. “The idea that we’re going to win this war is an ideal that unfortunately is just plain wrong,” the former Vermont governor and unsuccessful 2004 presidential candidate said.

Unsuccessful for a reason: he’s too far left for most Americans (yet the Democratic Party made him their chairman, nonetheless).

Murtha is just plain incoherent (hat-tip to Jeff Kouba):

When I said we can’t win a military victory, it’s because the Iraqis have turned against us. They throw a hand grenade or a rocket into American forces and the people run into the crowd and they — nobody tells them where they are.

Really? The quotes from the Beeb above don’t reveal such sentiments. Murtha doesn’t mention this:

Iraqi security forces and Task Force Baghdad Soldiers continued to scour the streets of Baghdad during operations Dec. 3-7, hunting down terrorists, disabling roadside bombs and seizing stockpiles of weapons.

Some of the success of these operations can be attributed to tips received from concerned citizens who approached Iraqi and U.S. forces with information about the whereabouts of terrorists and weapons caches.

While Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment were on patrol in south Baghdad Dec. 3, they were approached by two Iraqi citizens who said they knew where suspected terrorists were located. When the U.S. Soldiers went to the residence in question, they found six individuals — two of whom were known for terrorist activity. All six suspects were detained for further questioning.

Another patrol operating in west Baghdad Dec. 3 was stopped by an Iraqi woman who told the Soldiers about an improvised explosive device which had been planted in the area.

The woman pinpointed the location of the IED on a map for the Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment. When the patrol went to the location, the Soldiers found a 155-millimeter round with a radio device attached to it. An explosive ordnance disposal team was summoned to the site and the IED was rendered safe.

Soldiers from 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment observed an individual emplacing an IED in the Abu Ghraib district Dec. 6. Task Force Baghdad ground and air assets eventually cornered the individual, along with an accomplice, and detained the pair. Those suspects then positively identified another terrorist known for emplacing IEDs. All three suspects were detained for further questioning.

If Iraqis were “turning against us,” then why have millions of them voted in 3 rounds of elections? The BBC reported today that:

Sunni Arabs, who boycotted the last election in January, appear to have participated in large numbers, even in insurgent strongholds.

The fact of the matter is that Democrats have elucidated no new “strategy” for Iraq — except for Joe Lieberman, bless his soul:

Does America have a good plan for doing this, a strategy for victory in Iraq? Yes we do. And it is important to make it clear to the American people that the plan has not remained stubbornly still but has changed over the years. Mistakes, some of them big, were made after Saddam was removed, and no one who supports the war should hesitate to admit that; but we have learned from those mistakes and, in characteristic American fashion, from what has worked and not worked on the ground. The administration’s recent use of the banner “clear, hold and build” accurately describes the strategy as I saw it being implemented last week.

President Bush’s poll numbers are steadily rising as he’s taken the Iraq war to the bully-pulpit. Again, the BBC (12/14/2005):

Some 48% of respondents to the poll said they thought it was a mistake to send US troops to Iraq, as opposed to 54% of those polled last month.

Fifty percent said it was not a mistake, compared to 45% last month. The president’s approval rating was 42% - up 4% from November.

But seeing is believing:

Can’t the Democrats at least share some of the Iraqis’ joy? After all, they’re called “Democrats.” The Left is taking democracy for granted — to an extreme.

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To all the Iraq naysayers, who ignored Joe Lieberman, and have ignored all the progress in Iraq, I note this from today’s BBC headlines:

Iraqis have voted in large numbers for their first full-term government since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Voting was extended by an hour in some areas because of the high turnout, Iraq’s election commission said.

Sunni Arabs, who boycotted the last election in January, appear to have participated in large numbers, even in insurgent strongholds.

When all’s you feel is hatred of President Bush, and you take America’s freedoms for granted, it is easy to ignore the monumental changes that Dubya has initiated in the Middle East.

by Meyrav Wurmser
Middle East Quarterly*
Winter 2006
http://www.meforum.org/article/875
* Cross-posted with permission

Zionism is in crisis. Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip settlements in August 2005 exposed deep fissures within Israeli society and politics. But Israel’s unilateral disengagement and the preceding decade’s peacemaking did not create the crisis; rather, it exposed a smoldering problem. In fact, the differences between the opponents and proponents of the withdrawal are deep because of the depth of the debate. While the crisis is not new, it has only absorbed the Israeli mainstream as it has moved from the margins of society into the center of the Israeli political map.

Until now Zionism has been a remarkable achievement, noted not only for its success in establishing a thriving, free society but also for defending without foreign forces its independence from multiple invasions. Israel stands among only a few post-colonial nations—the United States is another—as a success.

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SMCCDI (Urgent Action)
December 14, 2005

Dear Iranians, Dear World Freedom Lovers,

“Mustafa Poor-Mohamadi”, Ahmanadinejad’s Ministry of Interior, is going to participate in an “International Conference on Immigration” in the Greek City of Athens on the dates of December 15th & 16th.

Poor-Mohamadi is known for his key role in the execution and murder of thousands of Iranians inside and outside of Iran.

As the official representative of the Islamic Ministry of Intelligence, Poor-Mohamadi was one of the three decision makers in the wave of the 1988 political executions; And also, the coordinator of murders of tens of Iranian dissidents in major European countries, such as, France, Germany and United Kingdom.

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today reiterated his Holocaust denial and called for the ethnic cleansing of Israel. Last week, Ahmadinejad questioned Jewish roots in Israel, denied the Holocaust, and in October, he called for Israel to be “wiped off the map.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is circulating an online letter to Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, and Javier Solana, the EU High Representative. It states:

Punitive measures must be adopted. Iran’s external assets can be frozen. Iran’s fanatical leadership can be prevented from addressing their message of hate to the international community, as President Ahmadinejad did when he spoke to the recent UN World Summit. Governments and parliaments around the world can be encouraged to cut bilateral ties with Iran. Critically, the United Nations Security Council must agree on a resolution imposing sanctions in the light of Iran’s continued nuclear defiance.

Please sign and send the letter and distribute as widely as possible. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, even at Orwellian nightmare institutions like the UN.

There he goes again… Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today denied that the Holocaust ever occurred, and called for the ethnic cleansing of Israel. From the financialexpress.com:

“They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred and place this above God, religions and the prophets,” the outspoken president said in a speech carried live on state television.

“If somebody in their country questions God, nobody says anything, but if somebody denies the myth of the massacre of Jew, the Zionist loudspeakers and the governments in the pay of Zionism will start to scream,” he said.

“Our proposal is this: give a piece of your land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska so they (the Jews) can create their own state,” he said.

“Be certain that if you do that, the Iranian people will no longer protest against you and will support your decision,” said Ahmadinejad, who was speaking to thousands of people in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

Last week, Ahmadinejad questioned Jewish roots in Israel, denied the Holocaust, and in October, he called for Israel to be “wiped off the map.”

Remember though, according to the BBC, Ahmadinejad is “conservative” — not a genocidal maniac.

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by Michael Rubin
Wall Street Journal*
December 14, 2005
http://www.meforum.org/article/874
* Cross-posted with permission

Iraqis will go to the polls tomorrow for the third time this year. Their actions mark both a triumph for the Iraqi people and a warning for Arab autocrats. Not only has the Iraqi march toward democracy proved naysayers wrong, but Iraqis’ growing embrace of democracy demonstrates the wisdom of staying the course. Iraqis are changing political culture. Howard Dean and John Murtha may believe that the U.S. military has lost. Brent Scowcroft may think Arab democracy a pipe dream. They are mistaken.

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SMCCDI (Information Service)
December 13, 2005

Hundreds of students gathered, today, in Iranian universities, such as the Tehran College of Technology, in order to protest against the repressive rule in Iran.

Slogans in favor of freedom, equality of gender, abolition of political offenses, democracy and condemning the theocratic rule were shouted by students. Many were carrying placards stating the same aspirations.

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Again I ask, “What’s wrong with this picture?” The BBC today described Syria’s brutal occupation of Lebanon as a “29-year-old military presence” while it continually refers to Israel’s security measures in the Palestinian territories as an “occupation.”

A full text search of the BBC news site for the term “Syrian occupation Lebanon” yields 135 hits, while a search for “Israeli occupation” yields 847.

Besides Syria’s complicity in Lebanon’s de-Christianization, and its economic profiteering from its “presence” there, the Assad dynasty had:

…approximately 30,000 Syrian troops and 25,000 intelligence members … deployed in Lebanon (that is 1 Syrian soldier for every 50 Lebanese).

The occupation brought many more Syrians into Lebanon than just “security” personnel — indeed, it was a flood:

About 1.2 million untaxed and unregulated Syrian workers are employed in Lebanon generating over $3 billion for the ailing Syrian command-and-control economy. Lebanon also serves as a closed market for Syrian products, not widely desirable in other parts of the world.

Yet Syria’s murder of thousands of Lebanese never inspired the leftist attention (anger) directed towards Israel. Nothing analogous to the Palestine Solidarity Movement was ever created for Lebanon. In fact, it was mostly Lebanese ex-patriots who tried in vain to bring attention to their homeland’s plight. But Lebanon was ignored for about 30 years — until the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri. Then it was the Lebanese themselves who started the long process of liberation from Syrian domination.

The long arm of Syria keeps knocking off Lebanese activists. Today, tens of thousands of Lebanese protested Syrian involvement in its continued campaign of murder in Cedar Land.

If this is a “presence,” then I’ve got angels flying out me ars (sorry, but I grew up with too many Irish).

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Palestinian election officials had to close some offices today because:

Gunmen from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, whose members are loyal to Fatah, burst into the Gaza City offices, Reuters news agency reported.

Raids also took place in Nablus on the West Bank and Rafah and Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. …

The problems are centred over a dispute in Fatah, which is headed by Mr Abbas.

Recently, the party held an internal ballot to decide which of its members should be put forward for the elections. But many senior members of the party were not included.

On Monday, Mr Abbas drew up another list which superseded the results from the ballot, angering some younger members of the party. Their gunmen have since staged protests at the election offices.

On November 28, these gunmen burned ballot boxes, and did some more rootin,’ tootin,’ and shootin.’

So this is how Palestinians resolve disputes, even among themselves? They have a lot to learn about civilized society — and democracy. Just wait. Some pundit will find some way to blame Israel for this chaos.

by Michael Rubin
National Review Online*
December 12, 2005
http://www.meforum.org/article/873
* Cross-posted with permission

On December 1, Ross L. Wilson was sworn in as Washington’s newest ambassador to Turkey. As a former ambassador to Azerbaijan and career diplomat, Wilson is solid candidate for the new post. But his task is formidable. U.S.-Turkish relations may be quiet, but they remain strained. While pundits often cite bilateral disagreements arising from the March 1, 2003, vote against active Turkish participation in Iraq’s liberation and Turks complain about Washington’s subsequent inaction against PKK, U.S. concerns are deeper and center not upon Iraq, but rather on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s accelerating assault on rule of law, transparency, and secularism. Erdogan may be elected, but his actions belie antipathy for the democratic process.

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by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun*
December 13, 2005
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/3197
* Cross-posted with permission

There is a right way and a wrong way, strangely, to call for the elimination of Israel.

The secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, provided an example of both ways in recent weeks. When the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stated on October 26 that “the regime occupying Jerusalem must be eliminated from the pages of history,” Mr. Annan replied by expressing “dismay.” Again on December 8, when Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be moved to Europe, Annan responded with “shock.”

But dismay and shock at Ahmadinejad’s statements did not prevent Annan from participating on November 29, just between the Iranian’s outbursts, in a U.N.-sponsored “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.” Anne Bayefsky of “Eye on the UN,” reports that Annan sat on the dais with an Arabic-language “Map of Palestine” nearby that showed a Palestine replacing Israel. It cartographically achieved exactly what Ahmadinejad called for: the elimination of the Jewish state.

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Here’s what Iraq’s arch-terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, says about this week’s elections:

“This so-called political process — and those who take part in these apostate elections — is forbidden by God’s laws and goes against our Muslim constitution, the Koran,” the groups said in the statement [released on the web].

Really? Just where does the Koran forbid elections? Following Zarqawi’s logic, does he mean to kill all the Muslims in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Indonesia, Djibouti, the Palestinian territories, etc., who have voted in varying degrees of free (and not so free) elections?

Where does this Islamist madness end?

by Daniel Pipes
FrontPageMagazine.com*
December 12, 2005
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/3196
* Cross-posted with permission

“It’s startling,” proclaims Spencer Ackerman in a New Republic cover story dated today, “how few American Muslim extremists there actually are.” The article, “Religious Protection: Why American Muslims haven’t turned to terrorism,” contrasts American Muslims with their European counterparts, whom he finds have turned to terrorism.

American Muslims are not terrorists? What is Ackerman thinking?

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by Asaf Romirowsky
FrontPageMagazine.com*
December 12, 2005
http://www.meforum.org/article/872
* Cross-posted with permission

Both Israel and America are facing a huge conundrum vis-à-vis Hamas and other radical Islamic groups. Are they legitimate participants in the democratic process about to unfold in the Palestinian territories? Should non-democratic organizations be permitted to participate in democratic elections, and potentially to come to power? We are also left with room for “interpretation” on Israeli policy towards Hamas. Sharon’s recent statements have been oblique at best when he talks about Hamas saying, “if the organization participates in the elections, it will be a negative development, and we see a danger to the continuation of the peace process.” But he also stressed to members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that “the elections are an internal Palestinian matter that we cannot prevent.”

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