And now you know...

...the rest of the story.

SAMARRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Heavily-fortified polling centres were deserted and streets empty as Iraqis in the restive Sunni Muslim city of Samarra stayed home, too frightened or angry to vote in the country's historic election.

"Nobody came. People were too afraid," said Madafar Zeki, in charge of a polling centre in Samarra, in the Sunni heartland, where the insurgency has been bloodiest.
According to preliminary figures provided by a joint U.S. and Iraqi taskforce who safeguarded Sunday's vote, fewer than 1,400 people cast ballots in the city of 200,000.

The figure includes votes from soldiers and police, most of whom were recruited from the Shi'ite south.

...or a part of it, anyway. This is a big story, with some good news and some bad, and we've got a long way to go before it plays out enough for proper evaluation.

Makes you wonder, though, about some of those glowing turnout tales. Here in the states we already know that long lines at polling places aren't always a good sign.