Democracy: the benign virus for which I hope there is no cure

Today there was a monumental event in Iraq. Iraqis voted for their own government after decades of being ruled by a fascist dictator. Despite the numerous threats to kill voters from the enemies of democracy, there was a considerably high turnout for elections today. Currently the estimates appear to be between 60-70% of eligible voters, which is quite impressive considering even in a high-turnout election (like the last presidential election) the US had a turnout of 56%.

I hope that this virus of democracy spreads throughout the Middle East, and through the rest of the world. I personally believe that it's the only way that we'll defeat terrorism.

There are many blogs worth looking at regarding the elections today. So many that I can't possibly link to all of them here. However, for good links and Iraqi election coverage check out Instapundit, Buzz Machine and Andrew Sullivan. Our friends at HispaLibertas have a little bit about the elections too. And finally, hear it from the Iraqis themselves at Healing Iraq, Iraq the Model, Hammorabi and The Mesopotamian.

Congratulations, Iraqis. Let this be the beginning of something great.