The proof is in the pudding is the way I think the saying goes. The insurgents in Iraq have not been focused on getting the U.S. out of the country, they’ve been dead set on causing chaos and unrest. That is all they want. The way they understand democracy is that one party is elected and that party makes the decisions, regardless of what the others want. But in reality, and in the U.S., we understand the system a little better.
Will we see the elections in Iraq go smoothly? Probably not and I doubt the turnout for the elections will be huge. If the situation for voting was the same here as it is in Iraq I am pretty sure I would not go out to vote either. The thought of fellow “countrymen” shooting at you because you want your voice heard is a little too much for me and I am sure it is the same feeling many Iraqi’s have.
There was an interesting piece on some news program last night about the insurgents and why they are fighting. The news crew talked to some and found out that most of them were not even from Iraq, they came from Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and even Pakistan to fight. Not because they hate Americans, but because they just wanted something to do. This kind of reminds me of the situation in Somalia. The fighters there were not fighting for king and country, they were fighting because they were bored and because they were usually paid in drugs.
The question is whether the situation in Iraq will ever improve and I believe it will. I think that our troops are doing the best they can to keep the peace and until the insurgents realize that terror will not get them anything our boys will have to continually be looking over their shoulders.