The following is the second of two columns Congressman Cole wrote about his recent trip to the Middle East.

There are many signs that the Iraqi people are determined to decide their future for themselves. Over 230 political parties and literally thousands of candidates have registered to take part in the elections. Every American we talked to gave us many examples of Iraqis fighting back against the Saddam loyalists and the non-Iraqi terrorists who have come to their country to kill Americans and prevent the establishment of a democracy. Army General Joseph Fil who is responsible for training Iraqi police noted that Iraqis had fought well in the recent battle for Fallujah. In addition, despite the loss of a thousand police officers in recent months, Iraqis continue to join the security forces faster than they can be trained and equipped. He said this speaks well of the bravery of Iraqis who are facing, "the most diabolical, clever, vicious, well organized [terrorist effort] I have ever seen."

On the political front the Iraqi leaders we met are brave and impressive. Our group had a long session with Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi and Deputy Prime Minister Salih. Both men are very realistic about the challenges they face. As Allawi noted, "we are having a very difficult fight here...we are fighting fear...we are fighting corruption...we are fighting 35 years of inefficiency. The whole society must be reformed and rebuilt." He added, however, "if Iraq succeeds...it will advance the region." Later a young American Army captain who has worked with Allawi told me, "He will be the George Washington of Iraq if he can survive." The captain added that, "the Iraqi soldiers and police revere [Allawi]. He is giving them back their pride."

Of course no trip to Iraq would be complete without visiting with the American soldiers and State Department officials who put their lives on the line every day to see that America succeeds in the difficult challenge of creating a free and democratic Iraq. Allawi was lavish in his praise for "your group who have been doing an excellent job helping us." Each American soldier is part of an all volunteer military and every State Department official who serves in Iraq has requested his or her assignment to this hazardous post. Their morale is high, their belief in their mission is strong, and their determination to succeed is remarkable. One young African American NCO from Muskogee Oklahoma told me to, "tell the American people to hang tough. Like Germany, this will take awhile, but America will be safer and the world will be better when we're done."

Overall, I came back from my trip to this troubled region with a sense of guarded optimism. I believe that the elections will proceed on schedule and generate positive changes in Palestine, Iraq and throughout the Middle East. In Palestine elections could produce a new Palestinian leadership with the credibility and the strength to negotiate a final two state solution to the conflict with Israel. That would allow Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in peace with borders that each side respects.

In Iraq free elections and democratic leaders will reinforce the determination of the people to never go back to the torture chambers, secret police and endless wars of the tyrant Saddam. While the outcome of the elections in Palestine and Iraq is far from certain they provide a window of opportunity to move toward a more democratic and peaceful Middle East. That is a good thing for the peoples of these ancient lands--and it is essential to the long-term security of the United States. Democracies seldom start wars and provide poor breeding grounds for terrorists. Those are goals worth the sacrifices that brave Americans working in this dangerous region are making for our country.