With sad news this morning, we should remind ourselves that Iraqis are made of sterner stuff:

The Kurds of Iraq are battered but not bowed. We will not be intimidated. We know all too well who we are dealing with. Unable to strike devastating blows against U.S. forces, the terrorists are increasingly assaulting free Iraqis.

Iraqis, however, are fighting back. While a small minority of former Ba'athists and their fundamentalist allies is resisting democracy, the vast majority of Iraqis support the U.S. and Coalition presence and are volunteering to fight for their freedom in partnership with the Coalition. Fully aware of the risks, many thousands have come forward to join the Iraqi police. The contrast between the forced conscription that characterized Ba'athist rule and the willing engagement of so many Iraqis in the defense of Iraqi democracy is both striking and moving.

Barham Salih, Prime Minister of the Kurdish Regional Government, in the February 4, 2004 Wall Street Journal. Good men will triumph in Iraq.