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The Iraqi government is taking back more property and battlespace from the Coalition, all according to plan. Battlespace and key landmark turnovers are but part of the incessant march toward democracy. The biggest step is still to come this December when Iraqis vote for their permanent government. The Constitutional Referendum showed that given the right environment, one safe and free of intimidation, the people of Iraq will vote for their future. The referendum saw about 10 million voters turn out and this election promises even more. To ensure safety and security, there will be more than 6,000 additional ISF on the streets for the election than we had for the referendum - 80,000 more than we had for the elections in January. In a way the palace in Tikrit is really two symbols for the Iraqi people. For the past, it is the symbol of waste and abuse of the many by the few. For the future, it is a symbol of the prosperity possible through democracy. Editor's note: Gen. Casey's commentary appears as a weekly column in "This Week in Iraq," published by Multinational Force-Iraq (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/). |
