Afghan voters have already won, whatever the results

I am currently deployed to Afghanistan and sit in awe of and in admiration for the Afghan people. Their sacrifices made on Aug. 20, 2009, during their second Afghan national elections were truly astonishing. After experiencing a decade of war with the Russians, the brutal government of the Taliban, and now nearly eight years of war after 9/11, Afghanistan’s trek towards freedom has just begun.

While in Afghanistan now, I’ve had the great pleasure of experiencing the Afghanistan national elections. I have experienced other national elections in the past in Haiti and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Yet those elections paled in comparison to Afghanistan — the extreme danger voters were in here far exceeds that of other nations. It was a remarkable achievement for the Afghan people.

According to Reuters News Service, both President Hamid Karzai and chief rival Dr. Abdullah Abdullah claimed victory the Friday after elections, yet little polling data is available to confirm or deny these claims. President Karzai is hoping for a greater than 50 percent victory so there will not be a run-off election. Preliminary announcement of the ballot counting will be on Sept. 3.

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I, frankly, have no idea how the election will turn out or who will win; it does not matter. Just that the Afghans have made it through this process again is astonishing. Amid the terror the Taliban caused during the days leading up to the elections — suicide and roadside bombings, small arms and rocket fire at polling places and against Coalition and Afghan National Security Forces, as well as using various intimidating techniques against the population — the people were not swayed by the violence and, for the most part, voted. In my opinion, they win.

I say they win because it is estimated that approximately 50 percent of the registered voting population exercised their right to vote. This is about the same percentage of registered voters who exercise their right in the United States — in the 2008 presidential election, the Census Bureau estimates that around 58 percent of registered voters voted. Yet, I have not seen hundreds of violent events around the United States at polling places, schools or government buildings. When was the last time a roadside bomb, a suicide bombing, or small arms attempted to keep U.S. citizens away from the vote? Now you can see the commitment the Afghan people have to changing their nation.

 I served 21 years in the U.S. Army, have been awarded the Bronze Star twice for my service in combat, and when people thank me for my service, all I ask is if they voted. I compel all of you to vote in our next elections — and if you don’t, in my opinion, you have no right to complain about our political system. Believe it or not, it is the best in the world and most nations want to be like us. Exercise your right, please.

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Even now that the Afghan people have voted, the terror continues. The purple ink used to validate their vote by taking a fingerprint marks them as targets as it is made from indelible ink. Indelible ink is used for two reasons: one, to prevent voter fraud, and two, to prevent the same person from voting twice. But, since it is indelible, the Taliban use it as targets and have threatened to cut off the thumbs of people who voted. The Associated Press reports that two people in southern Afghanistan — the heart of the Taliban insurgency — had their thumbs cut off on the Thursday after they voted.

Amid this intense, life-threatening reality of Afghanistan’s elections, the people of Afghanistan have endured. They voted! They made a difference in their future!

And we made a difference in their future. Likewise, we made a difference in our own future — terrorist threats to the United States will not emanate from here any longer. Remember: Thank a vet for keeping your right to vote alive and free.

Bob Cuddeback grew up in Millerton and is deployed in Afghanistan as a Department of the Army senior civilian and  is a retired chief warrant officer 3.