The Beacon of Democracy in the Middle East - Iraq

Iraq the Model has an excellent compendium of posts from Iraqis about the current situation in Israel and Gaza. Surpisingly, many of the post are pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian. Several times in the past, I have posted that what Al Qaeda and its ilk fear most is not the democratization of Iraq, but the beacon of democracy it will become for the rest of the Middle East. One of the post is quite interesting.

"There are trends that still live by the past and its dark residues of killing ignorance. We are the sons of today and our minds must develop at a pace close to that of intellectual development of the world. We cannot solve issues with violence, murder and destruction of nations. We have to use logic and dialogue to convince those you disagree with, and once we do that we will have defeated our enemies, at least on the political arena which enables us to win the moral case before other nations. Reckless policies that believe only in rifles, cannons and slayings belong to the past and will bring nothing but further destruction and chaos.Strange they speak in the name of Islam while the prophet of Islam was tolerant in dealing with his enemies [whenever he could] for the sake of his message. Those who slay people like sheep are far from the values of that honorable message"Hashim al-Tabatabai: Baghdad/Iraq.

Unlike Palestinians, Iraqis are living daily with terrorists and violence. Israel is not a terrorist state nor a violent country which exports terrorism. Yes, it will defend itself, but it does not go into the West Bank or Gaza and indescriminately kill people. It reacts to acts of aggression and terrorism from these areas The killing of two Israeli Soldiers and the kidnapping of a third is the act of aggression and terrorism that made the current situation erupt into the crisis it is today.

I would like to see the terrorists in Iraq unilaterally withdraw from Iraq in the same way that Israel has unilaterally withdrawn from Gaza and intends to do so from the West Bank in the near future. Israel knows the results of violence and that is why it is unilaterally withdrawing from Palestinian areas and building a security fence to keep out the terrorists.

Iraqis know real violence and that is why they make statements like that one above that states violence does not solve anything, it just begets more violence. They see this fact everyday in Iraq. Terrorists in Iraq that are trying to prevent it from becoming the beacon of democracy in the Middle East. Violence slows reconstruction and therefore slows economic growth, freedom, and happiness. Terrorists in Gaza are trying to prevent Palestinians from advancing economically just like in Iraq. As long as these terrorists can keep Palestinians from actually experiencing democracy and the freedoms and happiness that it brings, they can use demoralized Palestinians to put on suicide vests.

Iraqis see what democracy can bring. I believe Palestinians are too beginning to realize its benefits. Unfortunately, the Palestinians only had two bad political parties to choose from in their last election. However, Fatah, smarting from its loss in the last election, seeing what true democracy is bringing to Iraq, and what Hamas is currently doing to its own people, will hopefully become a party by the people and for the people of Palestine.