In case you've been sucking on a keg all weekend or spending your free time studying for an upcoming exam and haven't heard the news, a huge turning point in establishing a free and democratic Iraq occurred on Sunday.
Well...it's supposed to be a huge turning point.
Elections were held across the country at more than 5,000 polling places for the first time in a half-century, amid what is slowly becoming commonplace: suicide bombings and mortar strikes against U.S. troops and Iraqis alike.
While it should be noted that Iraqi government officials estimated voter turnout to be higher than expected (a final count will not be available for seven to 10 days) this election should be seen only as a small but positive step toward a free and independent Iraq.
It should be called a small step for a couple of reasons.
Most Sunnis, for example, were not expected to vote Sunday due to calls for a boycott on grounds that any vote held while U.S. troops, contractors and government officials were still on Iraqi soil should be deemed illegitimate.
A lack of Sunni participation -- whether the reason is legitimate or not -- should be cause for a newly elected Iraqi government to worry about keeping order in a country where a portion of its citizens do not recognize that new government.
Also, this election should not be considered evidence that the U.S. and its allies are winning the war on terror or that U.S. troops will be pulling out of the region anytime soon. As long as violence continues and the country remains deeply split among Sunni, Shiite, Kurds and other religious and ethnic groups, violence will persist.
It is our hope that the U.S. government will not use the elections to make a case for declaring their military expedition a success, because when U.S. troops leave the region, civil war is definitely a possibility. And no matter what potentially positive change this means for Iraq, it is not so much a victory for Allied Forces as it is for the Iraqi people.
Yes, an election is a good step in the right direction, but there are no signs that violence in the country will stop.
Security should be the main focus of promoting a democratic Iraq. A newly elected 275-member assembly is only useful to its people if it can adequately govern them.
And despite democracy's optimistic connotations, the election was held amidst heavy border security and more than 300,000 Iraqi and American troops on the streets to protect voters, yet suicide and mortar attacks continued across Baghdad and other parts of the country.
Regardless of impact and voter turnout, the elections represent a symbolic change for the country. It symbolizes a step toward a free and independent society.
We just hope that what is a symbol of freedom ends up translating to what Iraq really needs - a government that all of its people can agree on.
