iraqi elections

Honestly, I'm surprised by how smoothly the Iraqi elections went. I expected some huge attack on Baghdad or a Shiite city (with many people voting). Nothing much materialized. However, the preliminary results of the vote really do highlight a big problem with the recent elections Parties were primarily religiously/ethnically supported. The only secular party was the one headed by the US-supported Allawi. And they received a mere 13.8% of the parlaiment. I mean, we joke about how the red states are less educated and fervishly religious, but those correlations aren't solid--even in Republican strongholds Indiana and Texas, there is a strong Democratic presence. Austin, TX has to be one of the most liberal cities I've visited, regardless of who they voted for. But in Iraq, there's the Shiite party, the Kurdish Party, and the Sunni Party. A rule by the Shiite party could lead to a situation almost as bad as before. Sure, Iran is ruled by a Shiite theocracy, but they lack the Kurdish population and have a larger Shiite population proportionally than Iraq. W/e, g'luck Iraqis, hope it all turns out well