Free Republic

BAGHDAD -- The elections last December in Iraq were a monumental stage in my country's history and a testament to the courage of its people, who refuse to bow to any dictator or terrorist. As the wheels of democracy have begun to turn in Iraq, the people's wishes are becoming clearer and their representatives identified. To this end I am humbled and honored to be chosen by my coalition to lead Iraq's first democratically elected full-term government. My government's first challenge will be to stifle the terrorism that has plagued our country and defiled the name of Islam. While we...

In practice, if not in theory, wealth and democracy reinforce one another. Iraqis have conducted two successful national elections in the midst of terrorist violence. Despite an estimated unemployment rate of 40 percent, some Iraqi "big picture" economic trends are positive. This week at the University of Central Florida's National Global Issues Forum in Orlando, Ambassador Robin Lynn Raphel, the State Department's coordinator for Iraq reconstruction, said that from 2004 to 2005 the Iraqi economy has expanded by 25 percent.That's encouraging news. When it comes to stabilizing Iraqi society, however, the microeconomics of the average Iraqi's pocketbook may trump the...