This is a season of hope for the Iraqi people.
Absentee balloting for the parliament began early in the week with the general ballot coming on Thursday.
An emerging nation and ours are on the cusp of learning whether the war will produce a democracy capable of being a guardian of human rights.
The vote and the resulting parliament -- with ample representation for minority Sunnis and women -- must set the stage for the transition from a nation held together in large measure by the force of American troops.
Word on the "Arab street" per an ABC News poll has more than two-thirds of Iraqis opposing the presence of coalition troops. Yet three-quarters are optimistic about the elections and more than two-thirds expect life to improve in coming months.
They, like Americans, do want the war over as soon as possible, but perhaps fail to note that the conditions for a government by the people were and are established by the coalition that ousted Saddam.
Evidence mounts that Iraqi security forces are growing into the role of defending their nation against terror. Seventy-one percent of Iraqis also see this progress, which is a source of their good feelings about the future.
Defeatism is not a strategy but a millstone around the necks of brave Americans and Iraqis fighting for freedom.
We do not accept cut-and-run. We expect the elections to be a success.
And a corner is turned.
