Arab Despots Don't Want Democracy

Sunday's election in Iraq gives lie to the claim that Arabs don't want democracy.

The true Iraqi patriots are those who risked their lives to vote, apparently in much larger numbers than anticipated. "I would have crawled here if I had to," 32-year-old Samir Hassan, who lost a leg in a car-bomb blast last year, told Reuters. "I don't want terrorists to kill other Iraqis like they tried to kill me." Yesterday's coverage on TV and in print was full of similar comments from Iraqis--which is especially notable since so much of the Western press has been anticipating a much worse outcome.

And, "The new Iraq is born today," declared the Al-Ittihad daily in Abu Dhabi. And the Arab News in Saudi Arabia called the vote "a much needed victory for moderation" and "a very historic moment." U.S. diplomats should now be working overtime to make sure these countries assist the fledgling Iraq assembly as it works to write a constitution and establish its credibility around the world.

No doubt Arab despots composed some of those foreign leaders who wanted John Kerry to win.