Buried By Mainstream Media: the Iraqi Constitution

BAGHDAD, Oct. 25 -- Iraqi election officials announced Tuesday that voters approved a new constitution in a nationwide referendum 10 days ago, based on a final tally of votes that had been delayed for more than a week while officials recounted ballots and checked for possible irregularities.

Did you know this? To continue:

According to the vote tallies released by officials here, more than 78 percent of the voters nationwide approved the constitution. Opponents -- mostly minority Sunni Arabs -- were unable to defeat it by getting at least two-thirds of the voters in three provinces to vote against it, according to final preliminary results released by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq. The results confirmed widely reported preliminary estimates shortly after the balloting.

A majority of voters in three of Iraq's 18 provinces voted against the constitution, but one of them failed to reach the two-thirds threshold -- a veto provision designed to protect Iraq's minority communities. In Anbar province, 96 percent of those casting ballots voted against the referendum, and 81 percent rejected it in Salahaddin. But in the key swing province of Nineveh, 56 percent voted against the constitution -- about 10 percentage points short of what was necessary to kill the charter.

About 63 percent of Iraq's 15.5 million registered voters cast ballots, the commission reported.

Hello: the Iraqis just today affirmed that their constitution was approved. Here's an amazing thought: what if America helped provide an entirely new constitution to another country, and nobody heard about it or read about it?

That's precisely what's occurring now. Have you heard or seen this trumpeted on CNN, MSNBC, the primary three letter outlets (ABC, CBS, NBC), the front page of your local newspaper in block letters -- and not buried on page A-4?

For example, lead news story on yahoo.com at 1325 PST: "US military deaths reach 2000 in Iraq." Same time, Drudge Report, top item: "2000." Top news story in my Sacramento paper, The Bee (at sacbee.com): "US military deaths reach 2,000 in Iraq." Even on WorldNetDaily.com, the constitution is 4th item down.

Quick reality check for me: isn't this why we're in Iraq? Don't I hear the constant bombardment by left leaning individuals: "Where's the progress? What are we doing? Why are we there?" I could have sworn it was to help a country set its own course, determine its own direction.

So, I ask: isn't that a world-shaking, landmark event?

If you're the MSM, apparently not.