What if the Iraqis held elections and nobody died -- or even got hurt?

That seems to be happening today.

Turnout appeared high in Anbar province, an overwhelmingly Sunni area that largely boycotted the 2005 elections because of threats by Sunni insurgents and opposition to the U.S.-led invasion....

Voting was quiet in the southern Shiite city of Basra, where the choice was between Shiite religious parties and the more secular brand of Shiite politics offered by Mr. Maliki’s slate....