Iraqi Elections Should Silence Critics

One would think that with 70% of the Iraqi's showing up to vote last week many of the critics of President Bush's plan for a free Iraq would be silenced. Those who have repeatedly called for a complete pullout, and abandonment of the war in Iraq should be open minded enough to recognize this as a movement towards victory. This is not the time for arrogant and ignorant criticism, it is not the time for pure party support, but for encouragement and for yet another push to advance the good going on in Iraq.

Andrew Sullivan wrote last week, "I should add that pure domestic partisanship on this matter - and even recriminations and criticisms of the past - need to be abandoned in America right now. We are asking the various Iraqi factions to put the past behind them and work constructively for a better future. President Bush is the commander in chief for the next three years - the crucial years for Iraq - whether you like it or not. It is in all our interests - Democrat, Republican and Independent - that he succeed. Scoring points - as distinct from making clear and constructive criticism - is not what we need right now."

That is well said. And while I am not naive enough to suppose that the devotion to liberalism, or republicanism, will be abandoned for the good of the cause I h0pe that many will say with one jouranlist, "everything I thought I knew [about the war in Iraq] is wrong."