election day

Voting in Iraq has been underway for a couple of hours now. From the snapshots being offered by our 24-hour networks, it is of course impossible to know how things are really progressing. There has been some violence, but casualties are low. So far; here's hoping.

Links you might want to follow today:

Friends of Democracy - Iraq Election News
The blog at Spirit of America
Jeff Jarvis's roundup of Iraqi bloggers
Summary page from The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies

Sunday afternoon, C-SPAN will have election coverage from 2:00-4:00 pm EST, sponsored primarily by Spirit of America. Christopher Hitchens will be one of the commentators.

Two quotes before I try to get some sleep tonight. The first is from Martin Kramer (via the Corner).

The Iraqis did not turn out to join in the overthrow Saddam, because they were afraid. Now they must turn out to forge an alternative, and if they fail to do that because they are still afraid, then they are lost. They will slip slowly beneath the waves of some new despotism, condemned to reenact yet another cycle in the tormented history of a country that should never have been.

America owes Iraq this day, but beyond it there is no enduring obligation to sacrifice more for Iraqi freedom than the Iraqis are prepared to sacrifice. No people has achieved and sustained democracy that did not have men and women prepared to fight and die for the right to place a ballot in a box. Iraq is no exception.

My readers know that I've always been a skeptic about the democratizing project in the Arab world. The odds are against it. But I've always understood that skepticism cuts against the American grain, and that most Americans feel duty-bound to try. I hope against hope that this majority is right and that I'm wrong. What's important is that when this day ends, and the outcome becomes clear, we put aside lingering illusions and see it for what it is—either a beginning, or an end.

The second is from Mohammed at Iraq the Model, and may already be familiar if you've surfed the blogosphere this week. Even so, it's worth a second or third look.

The tyrants nightmare is becoming reality, now they will have to deal with the scariest word in their dictionaries; THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE. The terrorists have challenged the bravery of the Iraqi people but they messed with the wrong people. The people have accepted the challenge; democracy and elections are not a luxury for Iraqis, it's an issue of life or death. And the terror brutal campaign has only made the people more determined to go on with the change.

The results of some recent polls that have shown how determined Iraqis are to hold the elections might have surprised you, but they weren't a surprise for us; we're not the kind of people that kneel to terror and the sights of blood and beheadings.

Saddam had tried all tools of oppression, killing and torture he could find against our people (including WMD's) but he failed to make the people believe in his hateful regime. And that's why the people abandoned him and now, he and his regime are just a bad old tale from the past.

On Sunday, the sun will rise on the land of Mesopotamia. I can't wait, the dream is becoming true and I will stand in front of the box to put my heart in it.

Godspeed, Mohammed.

Thanks for keeping up with the coverage of the election. I appreciate the commentary and links.