And, by the way, to those who think some people just aren't cut out for democracy, I have two words: Seventy per cent voter turnout. And that was in the face of the head-hackers and exploding jihadis; Americans can't muster fifty per cent, and all we have to do is go down to the schoolhouse and stand in line for a bit.
And to those who think a beachhead of civil, consensual, tolerant, pluralistic, society in the Middle East isn't important, or isn't making a huge difference, or that western support of it isn't helpful, I have two more words: Eastern Europe. Until relatively very recently, those hundreds of millions of people lived under wretched tyranny and now they are all free. Yay.
Anyway, God bless the Iraqis, seriously. May they have peace to go with their hard-won freedom (and growing prosperity) very, very soon.