Democracy under attack in Iraq

The Charleston Post and Courier ^ | 05/14/05 | Editorial

[smoothsailing]

SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2005 12:00 AM

Democracy under attack in Iraq

The Iraqi people won the first round of the battle for democracy when they defied terrorist death threats and cast their votes to elect a new parliament. Now they must win the second round by opposing the foreign jihadists and recalcitrant Sunnis who have set out to destabilize the new government by launching a new wave of terrorist violence that has claimed more than 400 lives and wounded thousands in the weeks since the formation of the new Cabinet was announced.

As in the first terrorist campaign aimed at preventing the elections, there is an air of desperation in the ferocity that has been unleashed against ordinary Iraqis, who have been murdered and maimed by suicide bombers programmed to spread terror among the civilian population. Iraqis who actively participate in the democratic process, whether standing for office or volunteering for the army and police, are ruthlessly targeted. The aim, clearly, is to break the morale of the Iraqi people and prevent democracy from taking root.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the bloodthirsty leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, makes no secret of his fear that the Iraqi people will embrace democracy and reject the fanaticism inspired by Osama bin Laden, founder of the al-Qaida network. He recognized more than a year ago that if democracy takes hold in Iraq, he and his fellow zealots are finished. In a message that was intercepted by U.S. forces, the terrorist leader told bin Laden that he intended to step up attacks to prevent elections. He reported that once the Iraqis had a government of their own and the army and police were under Iraqi control, "there will be no choice but to pack our bags and move to another land."

Last month al-Zarqawi's group, in an Internet message under its full name, The al-Qaida Organization for Holy War in Iraq, rejected a call from Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to insurgents to lay down their arms and take part in the political process. The terrorists said they would never "enter into atheism, polytheism and the political game" and would "reserve the sword for you, agents of Jews and Crusaders. We will never give up jihad until Islamic law is established."

The Iraqi people can help reduce the intensity of terrorist attacks by supporting the new government and cooperating with the Iraqi security forces while U.S. forces go after al-Zarqawi and other foreign fighters. Operation Matador, the major offensive which began a week ago near the Syrian border, is targeting followers of al-Zarqawi and foreign fighters who infiltrate into Iraq. But terrorists and guerrilla fighters cannot be defeated by military means alone. On Thursday, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned against expecting quick results from Operation Matador. "This requires patience," he said. "This is a thinking and adapting adversary. ... I wouldn't look for results tomorrow. One thing we know about insurgencies, that they last from three, four years to nine years."

The new Iraqi government needs the support of neighboring countries. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari complained in an interview with The Associated Press that Iraq's neighbors have "some tolerance for these terror networks." He singled out Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and Turkey in charging, "Generally, they don't like what we are doing to build democracy in that part of the world."

The viciousness of the latest attacks should steel the resolve of a majority of Iraqis who have already shown their courage and their commitment to democracy by voting in the face of deadly terrorist threats.  

[MikefromOhio]

and the Iraqi people will fight back I think....