Did it pass or not?

Yesterday, Iraqis went to the polls to cast their votes on the proposed Iraqi constitution. The constitution, if passed, will serve as a major turning point in Iraq’s history. If its people accept the charter, it will signify their commitment to democracy and a rejection of the old Baathist regime as well as dealing a major blow to the insurgents who have made it clear that they are seeking to destroy Iraq’s fragile democracy in its infancy. According to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the charter “probably” passed, but we must wait for the laborious task of counting paper ballots. There is little doubt that the Shia and the Kurds voted in favor of the charter, the real question is what did the Sunnis do. Sunnis did vote in these elections, and they also turned out in large numbers, unlike in the parliamentary elections held early this year. The large turnout among Sunni is the big question. The turnout could signal acceptance of the charter or it could signal massive rejection, after all it is the Sunnis who have stood in the way of a peaceful Iraq and it is the Sunnis who have been the chief architects of the insurgent terror movement in that country. Saturday was also noted for its relative calm, something unusual in Iraq as many terrorists took a day off from their murderous ways. It’s unlikely the calm will last for long. No one is expecting the murdering savages within the insurgent movement to experience an epiphany. We can expect the results of the election by next week. Regardless of the outcome, however, the US must begin preparations to remove itself from the Iraqi picture, we can continue to train and prepare the Iraqis, but just as with a child, their comes a time when they must learn to stand on their own feet. If the Iraqi government continues to rely on the US like a crutch, they will become dependent and incapable of dealing with problems like terrorism and fertile ground for the insurgents.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/16/iraq.main/index.html