Is this the turning point?

Victory!

I am inspired by the success of the elections held in Iraq on Sunday. Though much maligned for my support of George W Bush, I believe the significance of the election will be long remembered as a turning point in the Middle East. Do I sound optimistic....I hope so.

Clearly the media over the last six months have had no real idea of the understanding Iraqis have of their own situation. While the world thought the elections would flop (and I'm sure some European leaders actually hoped it would), and that no Iraqis would vote, the people of Iraq waited for this day and made a proud statement to the world. Democracy and freedom are not just words hijacked by the current US administration, they are words that mean everything to those that don't have them.

I'm sure there will be those that will dismiss the result as Western propaganda, but these people have no idea. They are pessimistic, cynical defeatists who would have you believe that life under a brutal dictator is better than a democracy forced on a nation. I believe they are wrong, and I believe the people of Iraq showed that - given the chance to have their own voices heard - they came out en masse. I read a fantastic article in The Australian by Mark Steyn: The "Civil War" that wasn't. It best sums up my feelings towards the hypocritical and ignorant dooms dayers that fill up our media which political, anti American depressing news stories. Great read Mark.

theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12107390%5E7583,00.html

I hope this is a turning point, for Iraq, for self serving European leaders, and for the left wing press.