An Historic and Emotional Moment for the US and Iraq

From Iraq The Model, today, January 30, 2005, when the sacrifices of the United States and its coalition partners begin to pay off for the people of Iraq. I only pray that they, unlike the French, will remember forever the blood that was spilled and the lives that were sacrificed on their behalf:

"Take a look today to meet the model of courage and human desire to achieve freedom; people walking across the fire to cast their votes.

Could any model match this one!? Could any bravery match the Iraqis'!?
Let the remaining tyrants of the world learn the lesson from this day.

The media is reporting only explosions and suicide attacks that killed and injured many Iraqis s far but this hasn't stopped the Iraqis from marching towards their
voting stations with more determination. Iraqis have truly raced the sun.

I walked forward to my station, cast my vote and then headed to the box,
where I wanted to stand as long as I could,

then I moved to mark my finger with ink, I dipped it deep as if I was poking the eyes of all the world's tyrants.

I put the paper in the box and with it, there were tears that I couldn't hold; I was trembling with joy and I felt like I wanted to hug the box but the supervisor smiled at me and said "brother, would you please move ahead, the people are waiting for their turn".

Yesterday I was moved to tears by the picture here and thought of the late, great, American Ray Charles (and Katherine Lee Bates):

"O beautiful, for heroes proved,
In liberating strife.
Who more than self, their country loved,
And mercy more than life"

Whatever else goes down in Iraq, from here on in, and whatever effect it has in the world in general and the Mideast in particular, no one will ever be able to say that Americans didn't fight with all their will and treasure to make a difference for the faithful and true Muslims of the world.