Caught Up in the Joy of the Moment

Mohammed is posting a letter he received from a friend in Iraq. It is poignant and poetic, stirring in its obvious joy at living in a free country, touching in its apparent love of countrymen, and generous in its sharing of the glory of the day.

Here's an excerpt:

It was a day of happiness for Iraqis and a day of loss for the strangers who thought their camels brought them to a land void of patriots.

It is a day we will await to come again for four long years…to do the right thing again or to correct the mistake if we did one yesterday.

Anyway, I believe we left a mark on the face of history, a purple mark that will not be forgotten easily.God bless Iraq and Iraq’s friends throughout this world.

It wasn’t our day alone; it was your day too.

Were a country to decide to actively promote democracy in the Middle East as we have done in Iraq, they would be hard pressed to find a finer, more dedicated group of citizens. It puts me in mind of the lead-up to Iraq.

I wrote a series of columns in support of getting into Iraq. Part and parcel to the conclusions of those pieces was confidence that the Iraqi people would rise to the occasion. But, I must admit that there was sometimes a kernel of doubt. Would the Iraqi's take advantage of the opportunity? Or, were they simply not ready for democracy; too accustomed to living under the thumb of tyranny as many on the left suggested?

Personally, I got my answer after the first election, with its turnout in the high 50s. Since then the Iraqi's have moved so far beyond my hopes that they leave even me, a sturdy believer, speechless.

While many Iraqi's do believe that we have done them a favor I'm sure, I wonder if they realize to what degree they are returning that favor? A democratized Middle East would be the single greatest move towards peace in our time and the Iraqi's have provided inspiration for millions of people.

The admiration I have for the courage, tenacity, and vision of the Iraqi people cannot be adequately expressed.

At this point I have no doubt that Iraqi's will complete this journey of self-rule. In some ways they already have, but the preservation of what they have created is key and Iraqi's appear to be treating their self-rule with the attention one might reserve for a newborn child.

Few things on a global scale give me greater joy than the prospect of calling Iraqi's "friends." How I want to meet some of these inspiring individuals who are bravely reshaping their country in their own image.

When the history is written and the hard times are over, what will be remembered is Iraq's dedication to the prospect of freedom. Somewhere on American soil there should be a monument dedicated to their inspiring example, if only to remind Americans of the sacrifices and hardship a people will endure to create what we enjoy as a matter of course.