The wrong side of history?

After what can only be described as exceptional Shi'ite and Kurdish turnout for the Iraqi election, all of us anti war types are forced to re-examine our response to this war and ask ourselves- are we going to be on the wrong side of history?

Even with all the distortions, misinformation and outright lies of this administration; even with the collosal bungling of the post war phase of the operation; and even though this administration at first opposed early, open elections but was forced into them by the eminence grise of Iraqi politics, Sheik Sistani, if Iraq becomes a stable, functioning Middle Eastern democracy, then most people will see this war as a success. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. We've been here before, kind of:

U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote :
Officials Cite 83% Turnout Despite Vietcong Terror

by Peter Grose, Special to the New York Times (9/4/1967: p. 2)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3-- United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.

According to reports from Saigon, 83 per cent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong.

The size of the popular vote and the inability of the Vietcong to destroy the election machinery were the two salient facts in a preliminary assessment of the nation election based on the incomplete returns reaching here.