Stand by Iraq
Iraq holds provincial elections on January 30th. Local candidates are defying threats from terrorists and proxies of theocratic states. The assassinations of some political leaders before the elections do not seem to hinder the Iraqi people’s enthusiasm for taking part in the vote. The situation in the country is still fragile, however. Even though the level of violence has dropped to its lowest since the war to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003, we will surely see setbacks in he future. Yet, despite the bloodbath of the last few years, the Iraqi people have never strayed from the path of representative government. Our solidarity should be with the people of Iraq, slowly building a democracy in the heart of the Middle East.