A Vote for Hope

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No one knows yet whether the giddiness that accompanied the election will itself prove a trick, an illusory respite from the daily jolts of bombs, mortar rounds and kidnappings. The Pentagon announced that 15,000 troops would leave Iraq, but few believe the Iraqis are yet ready to defend themselves. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers admitted last week that of the 136,000 Iraqi security forces that have so far been trained, only 40,000 are fully combat ready, able to "go anywhere in the country and take on any threat." In Washington, an e-mail making the rounds reminded those U.S. officials heartened by voter turnout in Iraq that in 1967, U.S. officials were heartened by voter turnout in South Vietnam too. Even in Baghdad, the defiant spirit of election day was no match for common sense: the morning after the vote, the kids were off the streets. --With reporting by Matthew Cooper and Elaine Shannon/ Washington