I’M SURPRISED THIS STORY HASN’T GOTTEN MORE ATTENTION:

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Preparations for the crucial January election are “on track” and the absence of international observers due to the country’s tenuous security should not detract from the vote’s credibility, the top U.N. electoral expert here said.

Given the record of the international observers in Venezuela, I think he’s got a point.

UPDATE: Hey, that’s two days in a row that I’ve agreed with the pronouncement of a U.N. official! Well, when they’re right, they’re right.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Ed Morrissey observes:

Those who claim that George Bush lives outside of reality, as John Kerry put it earlier, because he insists that elections will be held on schedule may find this a shock. However, we saw the Iraqis take back their sovereignty on schedule when everyone said that the US simply could not deliver it. I find no reason to doubt that Bush means to stick to his timetable, but just as in Afghanistan, the doubters likely won’t stop claiming the sky is falling until after the balloting starts.

Indeed.