Well, Of Course ...

I want to make a comment on the elections, but I want to establish the spirit in which I will make it.

In the spirit of those who warned of an Afghan defeat where two other empires had been beaten--and who then disparaged our victory as one over a fourth-rate power.

In the spirit of those who thought the sandstorm on the way to Baghdad was the beginning of a quagmire--and who then insisted that our troops get out of their armored vehicles to patrol on foot in soft caps after we routed the Iraqi military--and who in turn complained about why we didn't plan for a tough insurgency with plenty of armored vehicles.

In this spirit, I commend the emerging line of argument for those who wanted us to delay the elections in Iraq because it could not work and security was not good enough to allow people to go to the polls. I heard it once today already and it has promise for these pro-delay people (I'm being generous, I think they were mostly afraid of our success). Wait for it!

"Well of course the US military was capable of providing security for one day of voting."

Never mind that they claimed it could not be done. No, they will belittle the accomplishment, and ignore the bravery of ordinary Iraqis who went to the polls. The numbers probably won't match the optimistic 72% quoted this morning, but it will be enough. It's success will be indicated by how many "Well, of course ... " statements we hear.