Thanks Ed
And let's not forget to throw the smoldering bag of dog turd in front of the door where it really belongs: insurgent factions have said any Iraqi who votes will be killed (gosh they must love their countrymen!! What heros!). As your post points out, the US is not the roadblock to democracy in Iraq.
It seems fairly obvious that until the insurgents are killed or jailed, Iraqi elections may be somewhat problematic. I think it's an excellent sign that pretty much everyone still want to forge ahead with the voting. It's a start. The next round should be even more meaningful.