The
AP story on the Afghan elections makes it sound like a rare moment of hope in the ol' GWOT/GSAVE:
It appeared tight security helped on election day, with only three people injured and no one killed near polling places, although officials said they thwarted plots to smuggle explosives into polling places in pens and a clock.
Despite violence elsewhere in the country, the focus was on getting out the vote after intense efforts by United Nations officials and the U.S.-led coalition to organize the election and provide security for voters.
"We are making history," President Hamid Karzai said while casting his ballot. "It's the day of self-determination for the Afghan people..."
Again, the people of Afghanistan astound and inspire. But the real lesson is that we can accomplish great things when we're not too busy giving the rest of the world the finger:
More than 6,000 polling stations were guarded by about 100,000 Afghan police and soldiers and 30,000 foreign troops in the U.S.-led coalition and a separate NATO peacekeeping force."
And let's not get too gushy. The story also notes:
Violence in the two days leading up to the vote left at least 22 people dead. Early Sunday, fierce fighting in eastern Afghanistan killed three militants and two Afghan policemen, while two American soldiers were wounded.
Erben reported 19 small-arms attacks on polling centers over the previous 24 hours, most with no effect, although a handful of stations in one area closed temporarily because of gunfire and three people were wounded. He said 16 polling centers were unable to open at all, mostly due to security problems.
"Most with no effect"? If the polling station in my neighborhood was temporarily closed because of gunfire, I might be hesitant to head over there even after it reopened.
Hopefully this vote isn't followed by a "Well thank goodness THAT's over" from the international community. I have a feeling that Bush would just love to wind down this annoying distraction from his project of fomenting civil war in Iraq.