Iraq's elections are positive first step

Elections this weekend in Iraq are the first test of President Bush's new peace offensive. His first term in the presidency was a war offensive, only partly won, against terrorism. His second term is a peace offensive, a crusade against tyranny so that freedom may bloom. Freedom means democracy, and democracy means peace, and nations at peace are generally less warlike and dangerous than tyrannies.

Iraq's elections are but the first steps along this perilous road. There will be no clear signal of victory or setback this weekend. Many voters have been terrorized and fear for their lives at the polling booths. Others, like the Sunnis, may boycott, arguing that the elections presuppose political dominance by the Shiite majority.

The national assembly that will be selected this weekend must form a government, write a constitution, have it survive a national referendum in the fall and face new elections thereafter.

It may be a messy and fractious process. By disposing of Saddam Hussein, the United States has given Iraqis the freedom to engage in this. It is their challenge to work it out and develop their own brand of democracy.

The "insurgents," as we call the coolly calculating murderers who are trying to subvert this process, will still try to kill Americans when they can but are blatantly targeting Iraqis in the police and law enforcement agencies who have been striving to stabilize the country so the elections can take place.

I have covered many insurgencies in my time where insurgents have been bent on overthrowing dictatorships or colonial regimes in order to install democracy. It is rare to find an insurgency so brutally committed to preventing democracy.

If we look at the course of recent history, in the long run this attempt to stifle freedom is doomed to fail. As Bush said in his inaugural address, "Four decades defined by the swiftest advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt."

In the United States, where Iraqis are free of intimidation, thousands of them drove sometimes up to 12 hours last weekend to register to vote for candidates in their land of origin at one of the five U.S. polling locations available. They will have to make the same journey again next weekend to actually cast their votes. In 13 other countries, Iraqi exiles will similarly cast their ballots in this democratic exercise that the terrorists are trying to stifle.

"Eventually," said Bush in his inaugural address, "the call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul."