Iraq Election Turnout Heavy

Q: Who do Iraqis have to thank for their freedom?
hint: it's not Obama!

Iraqis held a referendum on their future today with an election that was marred by violence but still saw the highest turnout yet which in itself speaks to the optimism of the Iraqi people. Two images from Sunday's election illustrate Iraq's past and future:

A young Iraqi girl, who accompanied her family to the polling station, asked for her finger to be inked, even though she was too young to vote, shows her inked finger as she leaves the polling station in Karbala, Iraq, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Iraqis voted Sunday in an election testing the mettle of the country's still-fragile democracy as insurgents killed 25 people across the country, unleashing a barrage of mortars intent on disrupting the historic day.

An elderly man with an inked finger flashes a victory sign after he voted at a polling station in Sadr City, northeastern Baghdad, March 7, 2010. Explosions killed 24 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in an election that Sunni Islamist militants have vowed to disrupt, in one of many challenges to efforts to stabilise Iraq before U.S. troops leave.

Who do Iraqis have to thank for their freedom? Here are two reminders from 2003: