Why would a man put everything on the line for freeing a people a world away...staying stone faced and stubborn through it all....his belief in Jesus Christ.
My wife pointed out that Bush sticking with the Jan. 30th election date in Iraq was a very courageous thing. What if things had gone badly in Iraq this weekend, three days before the State of the Union? What could he have told congress and the nation if the elections had essentially failed? And Pres. Bush is going to Europe in three weeks...What could he have told European leaders who would likely have told him "We told you so!" had the elections been a disaster? Now, with the Iraqi people taking a step in determining their own future, in the exercise of republican government, Europe is on the defensive, and they will increasingly be compelled to support the effort there. Also, the fact that the Iraqi people are directing the course of their nation, it makes it harder to characterize our presence there as an "occupation." Clearly, we're not calling the shots like we were immediately after the fall of Saddam.
But Pres. Bush has a faith which tells him that the fact of freedom and justice in the world are not simply consistent with US principles, but are consistent with the character of God. What we all witnessed in Iraq this weekend was produced by hard work by Coalition and Iraqi forces, and by the good people of Iraq, but also by a covering of prayer. That which is prayed in alignment with the character of God will be answered affirmatively. I believe that Pres. Bush knows this, and hence he had the courage to press on with the unfolding of democracy in Iraq, and in the Middle East.