99 PERCENT??

These voting numbers are eerily close to the days of Saddam. You might expect overwhelming majorities in favor of the new charter in Shiite and Kurdish provinces, but this still looks fishy. Again: we need to wait to see the full vote count before we can say anything more. But it does look as if Sunni Arab participation was meaningful in the three provinces where Sunni Arabs predominate; and the process can therefore continue. That in itself is a victory of sorts. In how many Arab countries can we speak of anything similarly constitutional or democratic? But rumors of fraud will not exactly lower support for the insurgency, which is a key element in undermining it. Let’s hope that the re-checked results are credible. And that the extremely tough work the troops are doing over there – especially restraining violence during the vote itself – will soon reap more rewards.