The Power of Freedom

Just some thoughts from some Iraqis and others

From BBC:
Saad:

Iraqis are feeling better. They are breathing the air of freedom. They
read, watch and say what they want.

They travel, work and receive a living wage. They use mobile phones, satellite dishes and the internet, which they did not even know before.

The negative side, which is transient, is that some here are trying to force others to accept their way and even using force to achieve that.

As for terrorism, we are now beginning to unite against it and to defeat it.

I say to you: Wait two or three years and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Noura:

While we lost security after Saddam's fall, we gained our freedom and a chance to build a new society.

Kaban:

The only thing that worries us is the security situation. However, those who say that security was better in the past are completely wrong.

It is true we did not have suicide car bombings in Saddam's era, but our homes did not feel safe from the intrusion of Saddam's security men, who came in the middle of the night to kidnap, kill or rape.

Our insecurity then was also not highlighted on the Arab satellite television channels as it is now. Things are now complicated but we, as Iraqis, understand that in the end everything will be OK for future generations.

Walid Jumblatt, big-time Lebanese Druze leader:

I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, eight million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world. The Berlin Wall has fallen.

Dr. Mohammed T. Al-Rasheed:

Bravo Iraq! For history, Jan. 30, 2005, is one magnificent day for Iraq and the Arab nation. Regardless of who won and who lost, the day should be a permanent fixture on the Arab calendar forever. I don’t want to talk politics; I simply want to celebrate history.

In spite of everything, the Iraqis voted. They did so with a passion and a seriousness that gives the lie to the cliché that Arabs are not ready for democracy. One myth down, a thousand to go.