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Iraq Update: I don’t want to crowd the Yangban off the page with items that are being covered adequately elsewhere, but I’ve always believed that the road to Pyongyang leads through Baghdad, even if very different vehicles will take us there. Today is a day when optimism is easier to feel than contain. Not even the NY Times is immune:

The day was strikingly peaceful, even in areas normally beset by violence. With more than 375,000 American and Iraqi troops and police officers fanned out across the country, the American command here reported only 35 armed attacks, about half the daily average, with only 14 against polling centers. On Jan. 30, when Iraqis elected a transitional government, insurgents attacked nearly 300 times.

Iraqis streamed to the polls in cities and villages across the country, some bringing their children, some pushing wheelchairs, many dressed in their finest clothes. With streets across the country closed to vehicular traffic, many Iraqis milled about the streets after they cast their ballots, looking on as their children played soccer..

The current turnout estimate is a stunning 70%. Polls had to be kept open late. The most interesting story of the day is this one. If we succeed in engineering a political split in the insurgency that leaves the al-Qaeda terrorists isolated from a hostile population, Zarkawi will be defeated, if not sent directly to hell. I understand the drawbacks of negotiating with terrorists, but this is a negotiation from a position of strength, with an enemy that is experimenting with a switch to non-violent opposition. It’s still opposition, but as long as they hold to the conclusion that the costs of violence outweigh the benefits, then we’re winning.

Meanwhile, on days like this you might wonder what Michael Moore must be thinking. Today, he seems to be claiming credit for a triumphant moment he ardently sought to prevent. Consistency is a stranger to him.