The Wall Street Journal Once Again, the Jihadists Suffer a Defeat October 18, 2005; Page A19 GLOBAL VIEW By GEORGE MELLOAN ABOUT GEORGE MELLOAN George Melloan is the Journal's Deputy Editor, International. He began writing "Global View" in 1990, when he took over responsibilities for the overseas pages after 17 years as deputy editor in New York. During the first five years of his present assignment he was based in Brussels, traveling extensively from there to write about such events as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the break-up of the Soviet empire and the collapse of the Japan's stock market and real estate bubble. He returned to New York in 1994. A lot of ink has been spilled by U.S. opponents of the Iraqi war claiming that Iraqis are too mercurial and violent to be capable of self-government. How often does this insulting claim need to be knocked down before being consigned to history's dustbin? It was disproved again Saturday when Iraqis in record numbers braved jihadist threats in order to exercise the rights of free choice delivered to them by coalition military forces. The turnout, swollen by increased Sunni participation, was greater than in the historic vote for a provisional legislature in January. Although final results aren't in, preliminary vote counts show that Iraqis approved a new constitution, clearing the way for a vote on Dec. 15 on candidates for a permanent assembly. That body will select Iraq's first-ever democratic and representative government. When the new year begins, Iraq will have become the first Arab democracy. Not bad, some might say, for a people unsuited for self-government. Another important aspect of Saturday's vote was that security was provided mainly by Iraqi police and soldiers, whereas U.S. troops provided that necessity in January. The Iraqis did it effectively, thwarting al Qaeda, Hezbollah and all the other terrorists who had stepped up their killing spree in September to try to scare the Iraqi leadership and rank and file. International terrorists have chosen Iraq as the central arena for their war against the democracies, but they couldn't prevent an Arab nation from joining the democracy club. It's no wonder that in a letter sent last summer to Abu Musab Zarqawi, al Qaeda's bloodthirsty chieftain in Iraq, by the group's nominal leader, Ayman al Zawahiri, cautioned that killing Iraqis -- especially in brutal ways like beheading -- has not been good PR. Al Qaeda claims the letter is a fake, not surprisingly given its contents. Most of the Iraqis targeted until recently were Shiites, the majority long oppressed by Saddam Hussein and the 20% Sunni minority. But as Sunnis began to participate in the constitution-writing process, winning compromises from the Shiites and Kurds, they too came under fire. Now, the voting results suggest that minority Sunnis not only turned out in large numbers for the vote but many voted "yes" against the warnings of Sunni former members of Saddam's power structure. Sunnis, too, now have a right to choose for themselves. A successful referendum on a constitution guaranteeing Iraqis the right to vote and worship as they choose -- and giving women equal status with men in government and the workplace -- is an important step forward. But as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on TV Sunday, this doesn't mean an end to violence. There are reports that roadside bombs and other infernal devices are becoming more sophisticated, perhaps because of technology supplied by Iran. More Iraqis and coalition soldiers will die at the hands of terrorists. But it's now made clear, by the proven method of allowing a free and fair election, that there is little support for the jihadists among ordinary Iraqis. This denies the so-called "insurgents" something vital to any guerrilla group, the sympathy of a local population. As the Iraqis assume greater and greater responsibility for the nation's security, it will be harder for terrorists to preserve the anonymity they have enjoyed while fighting U.S. and British troops who don't speak Arabic. The war, at this stage, still involves Iraqi Baathist holdouts, but is increasingly against foreign jihadists. A better measure of the remaining Baathist influence will be had in the next few days when Saddam himself is scheduled to be put on trial by Iraqi prosecutors. No doubt his remaining supporters will try to make propaganda against the "foreign occupation powers," just as they did before Saturday's constitutional referendum. But the odds are stacked against them. When a haggard, no-longer-dangerous Saddam is brought into open court and the recitation of his sadistic crimes begins, it will be a brave Baathist who will dare to give him public support. But there will be little peace in Iraq as long as two of its neighbors choose to carry on their proxy war there against the U.S. Both Syria and Iran have a lot to fear from a strong, democratic Iraq allied with the U.S. and other democratic powers. That's why Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei is using his wiles to prevent the international community from stopping his nuclear-weapons program. Many Iranians suffering from the latest round of oppression from the mullahs would like to share in the freedoms that the Iraqis have just voted for themselves. A nuclear weapon won't do much to make the mullahs more popular, but it might help them scare off outside interference with their authoritarian theocracy. More seriously, there is some danger they might use such a weapon, in a burst of religious zealotry, if their rule is threatened. Aside from the internal and external security threats, the new Iraqi government will have more than the usual supply of problems to solve when it takes office in January. A key issue will be trying to avoid the economic-policy mistakes of other developing countries. A large income from oil exports has been a curse for some oil producers -- Venezuela, for example -- because it has shielded politicians from the necessity to create a climate in which private business can thrive. China and India had to encourage investment and protect property rights to achieve rapid growth. It is encouraging that Iraq's Constitution also guarantees property rights, but the country will need a judicial system that can enforce those rights, not to mention the civil rights of Iraqi citizens. When we begin to see Iraqi businesses launching initial public offerings and becoming joint stock companies we will know that Iraq is on its way to developing a modern economy. Perhaps the most worrying thing about the future of Iraq is the question of whether the U.S. will stay the course. America's liberals, still smarting over their loss last November, have intensified their own jihad against George W. Bush, raving for a pullout from Iraq. That day will come a lot sooner if America helps the Iraqis stand on their own feet. Saturday was a further advance in that direction. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/VpgUKB/pzNLAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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