Quagmire

Th source don't really matter. It's all over the news:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. fighter jets and attack helicopters killed about 70 militants around the western Iraqi city of Ramadi, the military said on Monday after a landmark vote that appears to have ratified a new constitution.

Election officials slowly counted up to 10 million ballots from Saturday's referendum, with partial results pointing to a clear win for a charter Washington hopes will help establish Iraq as a stable democracy able to do without U.S. troops.
[...]

[my emphasis]
Forget the part about the fighter jets and attack helicopters.
The important parts here are the parts about 10 million people being able to vote, and most likely having their own constitution.

Just try and tell me they would have been able to even think about voting on anything, with Sadam still running the show.