Democracy in Iraq

I am no expert on the situation in Iraq, but such an important day deserves a comment. It seems to be going better than anyone could have hoped, according to US TV and newspaper reports. But does a successful Iraqi election (one where a large number of people risk their lives to vote) vindicate the US invasion? Hopefully it will not provide the pentagon with the moral ammunition it needs to invade other countries in W's "axis of evil" (Iran?) but instead just allow it a brief sigh of relief--something of clear benefit to the Iraqi people may finally have come out of the invasion. "The Iraqi people themselves made this a resounding success," W said in a speech today at around 1pm Eastern time, filmed by ABC News..."Men and women have taken rightful control of their country's destiny." The New York Times says "if the insurgents wanted to stop people in Baghdad from voting, they failed. If they wanted to cause chaos, they failed. The voters were completely defiant, and there was a feeling that the people of Baghdad, showing a new, positive attitude, had turned a corner." Note that Iraqis, like the Indians, dip their fingers in indelible ink when they vote so that no one can vote more than once. It's a clever idea, why don't European and North American countries do this too?