Iraqis Brave Bombs and Hit the Polls

Posted on January 30, 2005

8 million Iraqis talked back to the insurgents today and headed for the polls. The New York Times has a good summary of what's going on today in the country which is finally lurching towards democracy and stability. As expected, turnout in the Shiite-populated south and in the Kurdish north has been high. The Sunni Triangle, or the Triangle of Death, as journalists have taken to calling it, had a much lower turnout of voters. Nevertheless, Sunnis in the dreaded triangle did show up to vote in numbers that were higher than expected. Of course, it's too early to tell if our latest nation building effort is going to have a happy ending. Many moderate Iraqis wanted a delay in the elections to give them time to negotiate with the Sunnis and many Iraqis--accustomed to Saddam Hussein's periodic rigged elections--don't really believe that the election is legit. But, for today, for the people who managed to vote without being killed, it's a happy day.