Why the Terrorists Won't Win

The so-called "Iraqi resistance" added yet another item to its long list of atrocities this past weekend, murdering over 60 Iraqis in a pair of bombings in the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. The terrorists seek to fulfill two goals by such actions: to prevent January's provisional assembly elections, and to spark a sectarian war between Sunnis and Shia. If the Shia quoted in this Washington Post article are at all typical, the terrorists are destined to fail on both counts:

"These attacks aim to destroy the country and the holy sites. This is terrorism against Shiites," said Fadhil Salman, 41, the owner of the Ghufran Hotel in Najaf. "They want to foil the elections, but this won't deter us."

[...]

"I swear to God, even if they burn all the elections centers, we will still go and vote," said Ali Waili, 29, a taxi driver reached by telephone in Karbala. "We have been mistreated for a long time, we have been tortured for a long time."

(link courtesy of Oxblog)

Remember these statements the next time someone says that Iraqis don't want democracy. A recent poll of 5,000 people in the Baghdad area suggests that such attitudes are very much the norm. 80% of respondents were against postponing the January elections, and 83% believe the elections will take place as scheduled.

The terrorists can murder innocents and inflict carnage, but they cannot prevent the Iraqi people from pursuing the path to democracy.