Democracy Marches On

....in the soil that the American left insists is rejecting it.

Afghanistan:

Afghans embraced democracy by the millions yesterday, with voters undaunted by weeks of violence and threats of terrorist attacks to cast ballots for the first elected parliament in decades.

The vote went smoothly, with only a handful of incidents involving gunfire or [terrorist] attacks at the 6,200 polling stations. "We are going to vote for the people who will do something for the country, not just for us," said Yosof Khan, dressed in the traditional loose-fitting garb and turban donned by members of his nomadic Kuchi tribe for centuries. Mr. Khan gestured to a throng of bearded men who nodded in agreement outside tents pitched amid desolate mountain peaks east of Kabul.

With more than 12 million voters registered, election officials said 80% to 85% cast ballots - an unheard-of turnout in Western democracies.

Iraq:

Iraq's parliament signed off on revisions to the country's draft constitution Sunday as a leading lawmaker declared that acceptance of the new charter was a matter for the people, not the parliament.

Hussain al-Shahristani, deputy National Assembly speaker, said the new text was given to the United Nations, which will print 5 million copies and distribute them to Iraqis before the October 15 national referendum on the new basic law.

The original draft was not voted on by parliament, and al-Shahristani did not call for legislative approval of the amendments.

"The vote on this ... is the right of the people, not their representatives," he said.

The changes to the document included an apparent bow to demands from the Arab League that the charter describe Iraq as a founding member of the pan-Arab organization and affirm that Iraq is "committed to its charter."

Other changes included holding the federal government responsible for managing water resources and the creation of two deputy prime minister positions for the Cabinet.

Sounds to me like freedom has taken root in the former, and the latter is simply the sort of "horsetrading" (i.e. compromise) that goes on in any functioning democratic system. No, the Iraqi constitution won't enjoy unanimous support, but then neither did our own. And the fact that the Sunnis are organizing via a massive voter registration drive to try and block democratic reform - a sweet slice of irony if ever there was one - shows how liberty is taking root in "the land of the Chaldeans" despite its opponents' best efforts.

George Bush is certainly not doing enough to ensure victory in the GWOT, and is doing a piss-poor job of defending what he is doing and has accomplished. But even in a politicomedia vacuum, two nations that were bitter enemies not all that long ago continue to make the most of the gift of freedom that Dubya has given to them.

If there be "failure" in all this, it cannot hang its hat in Baghdad or Kabul.

[Double HT: Captain's Quarters]