Updates at the end

I stated the other day that today was history in the making in the ME. And indications are this is truly the case, with a very high turnout.

Iraqis voted in a historic parliamentary election Thursday, with strong turnout reported in Sunni Arab areas and even a shortage of ballots in some precincts. Because of the large turnout, the Iraqi election commission met in emergency session and extended voting for one hour after long lines were reported at some sites, said commission official Munthur Abdelamir. Heavy participation by Sunni Arabs, who had shunned balloting last January, bolstered U.S. hopes of calming the insurgency enough to begin withdrawing its troops next year.
…
“The number of people participating is very, very high and we have had very few irregularities,” U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told The Associated Press. “It is a good day so far, good for us, good for Iraq.”

To Murtha and Pelosi and Dean and all the liberals on the left who kept calling for a quick surrender I say good riddance. The calls to quit before all the sacrifices we have endured have reached their optimal goal were short sighted, partisan driven, political suicide. When America needs to find leaders to get us through tough times and turn a seriously bad situation completely around, we will know not to search for leaders from the left.

The left’s insistence on keeping the status quo is mind boggling. Instead of a democratic Iraq ally in the ME we would be saddled with Saddam Hussein and his blood thirsty sons, probably now out from under UN sanctions (the appeasement carrot for Saddam to behave) and finalizing his nuclear ambitions in an arms race with Iran. That is where the left would have taken us.

This day would have been seen as a silly fantasy. Now it is an incredible reality!

More on Iraq from Michelle Malkin, Ed Morrissey, Don Surber, Powerline, Ace Of Spades, Stop The ACLU, Iraq The Model (a must see for results later) and Wizbang

UPDATE:

More at The Anchoress, who points to this image laden post at Aaron’s (note: I am experiencing Explorer crashes when trying Aaron’s site). Also check out Mark Coffey at Decision ’08

UPDATE II:

Mark In Mexico shares my sentiment that we have turned a corner in Iraq.

Reports from all over Iraq are coming in of millions of Iraqis dressing up in their best to go to the polls to vote. Children playing in the streets and smiling faces everywhere. And very little murdering occurring (Iraqi police arrested a terrorist with 72 bombs destined for polling places). One soldier described the atmosphere in Mosul as “one large playground”.

Another said that Iraqis and their children are “walking the streets waving at the Americans and Iraqi-army patrols as they pass by,…”

We have also turned a corner here in the US. The left is now history.