Back of the Envelope

If I didn't know better, I'd think that this Iraq country I keep hearing about might actually succeed:

Iraq's landmark constitution was adopted by a majority in a fair vote during the country's Oct. 15 referendum, as Sunni Arab opponents failed to muster enough support to defeat it, election officials said Tuesday. A prominent Sunni politician called the balloting "a farce."
...
The vote on the constitution was 78.59 percent in favor of ratification and 21.41 percent against, the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (search ) said. The charter required a simple majority nationwide with the provision that if two-thirds of the voters in any three provinces rejected it, the constitution would be defeated.

The referendum results, announced after a 10-day audit following allegations of fraud, confirmed previous indications that Sunni Arabs (search) failed to produce the two-thirds "no" vote they would have needed in at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces to defeat the constitution.

Slowly but surely, Iraq is making progress. I think that in ten years' time, no one will question whether this was the right thing to do.

Apparently, al Qaeda's hiring (from Wired):

The London-based Asharq al-Awsat said on its website this week that al-Qaida had "vacant positions" for video production and for editing statements, footage and international media coverage about militants in Iraq, the Palestinian territories, Chechnya and other conflict zones where militants are active.

The paper said the Global Islamic Media Front, an al-Qaida-linked, web-based organization, would "follow up with members interested in joining and contact them via e-mail."

The paper did not say how applicants should contact the Global Islamic Media Front.

Okay, there's a problem when the world's most famous terrorist organization can openly advertise for positions. I just hope this presents an intelligence opportunity for us.