The Afghan Army and National Police, by all accounts, did a great job providing a secure environment for voters and preventing any major attacks by terrorists. But the day was not without minor incident. In Konduz, a group of women were standing in line to vote when an explosive device detonated a few hundred yards away. They refused to move -- to do so, they reasoned, would be to give the terrorists a victory.
After all, these women like millions of others in Afghanistan, have, in the space of just three years, progressed from an environment in which they were treated like chattel to one in which they are helping to decide the future and fate of their country. When Afghanis learned they could select their leaders, public interest in the election soared. Said one prospective female voter, "I want a leader of my choice."
A poll conducted for the Asia Foundation found that 81 percent of Afghanis -- women included -- intended to vote, and 125,000 citizens signed up every day, despite Taliban threats to injure or kill voter registrants. Not even the pessimists at the United Nations or the Kerry campaign could dampen their spirits -- 77 percent of Afghanis believed elections would help their nation.
Though Taliban remnants vowed revenge against participants, Afghanis bravely and defiantly cast their ballots to prove that they are ready to govern their destiny. By voting in overwhelming numbers, the citizens of Afghanistan sent a message to the Taliban leaders and terrorists throughout the region that they are thankful for, and supportive of, American efforts to rid their country of evil. Maj. Scott Nelson of the United States Army put it this way, "Terrorists ... suffered a resounding defeat at the hands of millions of Afghans voting for freedom."
Sen. John Kerry, who portrays himself as some sort of "International Dale Carnegie," failed to recognize this historic achievement by the Afghan people. It's a pattern with Kerry. Prior to his snub of the Afghan elections, he belittled Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi minutes after Allawi addressed a joint session of Congress, thanking Americans for liberating his people from a brutal tyrant.
Kerry was also taken to task by Polish Prime Minister Aleksander Kwasniewski for failing to recognize the Polish contribution in Iraq. "It is really sad," Kwasniewski said, "that a senator with 20 years of experience does not notice the Polish input into the coalition and the Polish sacrifice. ... It is something immoral not to note the commitment which we embarked upon."
The Afghan achievement is enormous, and John Kerry and the media have sat on the sidelines as history has passed them by. It's their loss. But they'll have another chance to recognize a truly historic achievement when the people of Iraq get the same chance as the Afghanis had. Free elections will take place there, and the world will be better off when they do.