Posted on 01/30/2005 5:12:06 AM PST by billorites
ALMOST THREE months ago, Americans reelected President Bush in what was widely billed as the most important national election of our lifetime. Yet what was at stake on Nov. 2 pales in comparison to what is at stake in Iraq today.
The Iraqi election is viewed as a choice between self-rule and subjugation, and it is. But there is more. The war that has raged in Iraq since Saddam Hussein’s regime fell is less Iraqi vs. American than Sunni vs. Shiite (with Coalition forces defending the Shiites and many Sunnis). At issue is not just freedom vs. oppression, but secular government vs. religiously justified tyranny.
Terrorist leader Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi has proclaimed over and over that the real enemy in Iraq are the Shiites, not the Americans. He has called Shiites “the lurking snakes and the crafty scorpions, the spying enemy and the penetrating venom” and “the most evil of mankind.”
Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden have ordered Muslims not to participate in the elections because they say Muslims ought to be subject to God’s law, not man’s. Zarqawi and bin Laden are radical Wahhabis who think Shiites are Satan’s tools. Iraq is only one stop on their world tour of destruction, but at the moment it is the most important.
On the other hand, Iraq’s leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has decreed that voting in today’s election is a religious duty. Shiites from around the world are answering his call.
This sectarian power struggle simmered under Iraq’s surface for decades and was unleashed after Saddam Hussein’s Sunni regime was pulled down. Under Saddam, the ruling Sunnis enjoyed unrestrained power over Shiites, Kurds, Christians and all other groups. Some of them want that power back, and they will slaughter anyone who tries to prevent them from getting it. Until now, Coalition forces and Iraqi police were all that stood in their way.
Americans have sacrificed a great deal to make this day possible. So have those from other nations whose leaders saw Saddam Hussein for the threat that he was and acted to bring him down. Today the bravery of the men and women who liberated Iraq will be matched by Iraqis who venture from their homes armed only with a beating heart and a will to risk their lives for freedom.
May they win the day.
These countries are members of the Coalition of the Willing. They provided troops and/or material support in Iraq. Many gave their lives to topple the regime of Sadam Hussein and bring this glorious moment of freedom to pass. God bless ALL of our troops, all of those who fought and bled and died for FREEDOM. God bless everyone who contributed in any way to bring this moment to the world and may He grant enduring freedom victory over terrorism
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