Iraq Leaders Agree on Draft Constitution

[sabra]

http://www.normantranscript.com/feeds/apcontent/apstories/apstorysection/D8C0D0DO0.xml.txt/resources_apstoryview

The Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq —

Iraqi leaders have agreed on a draft constitution to be submitted to parliament by Monday's deadline except for two issues that the legislative body must decide, two Shiite officials said.

Nasar al-Rubaie, a member of the committee drafting the charter, said the document would be handed over to the 275-member National Assembly late Monday for a decision on the two unresolved issues, which he did not specify.

[Orrex]

1. Whew! Another arbitrary deadline met.

Er, I mean, Freedom Is On The March. Rah! Rah! Rah!

[sabra]

2. one problem, they couldn't come to agreement on some major issues

such as Islam and Federalism...

[Rose Siding]

5. Could be the only thing they agreed about....

was to say they agreed about something

[ConcernedCanuk]

10. You are correct - here's a link to those facts

.
.
.

still no agreement on at least two fundamental issues, federal autonomy and the role of Islam in the state.

(Just little things mind ya . . . )

Another possibility, he said, was for the National Assembly to vote, and, if agreed by three quarters of the house, amend the TAL to allow more time to draft the new constitution.

"That is a very like possibility," he said, adding that if that route were taken an extension of two weeks to one month would likely be sought.

Yonadem Kanna, a Christian member of the drafting team, also said an extension was most probable.
_____________________________________________

I expect Crawford's phone line be busy right now . . . .

[klyon]

15. What did they agree on ?...shape of the table?

These are very big issues that have been holding everything up.
Will we allow an Islamic theocracy? Is that what we are there for?
We are lowering expectations. George will probably walk away like he has done in in Afghanistan. To free up troops for other uses.

KL

[rocktivity]

18. If Islam ends up having a "role in the state,"

then Bush will have another "miserable failure" to carve on his bedpost.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Norquist Nemesis]

3. Any coincidence on the date?

I really didn't have any doubts they would make the deadline. That might screw things up in Karl's plan.

Now, watch for this milestone and the anniversary of VJ Day to be conflated.

[glarius]

4. I heard on TV that one of the things they couldn't agree on had something

to do with whether men should be allowed to beat their wives!....I heard it on a Canadian TV station and don't know the specifics of this, but that's the gist of it!

[Teaser]

6. Sounds like the Sunni's

got sold down the river. No mention of compromise on federalism.

[expatriot]

7. "two unspecified issues go unresolved." WTF? Spin-fucking city

How is this agreement on a draft Constitution when there are unresolved issues?

[expatriot]

8. Modern Iraqi history is being driven by Bush's desparate spin machine....

and these 11:59 "agreements" done without any substance and on the cheap just to meet some Bush administration staged deadline is a joke. So, to reach an "agreement" they postponed making a decision on two issues that were the reason they couldn't reach an agreement. What the fuck?

[Jack Rabbit]

9. Details, details

To make a proper judgment on this matter we need the deatils. What are the two unresolved issues? Did they decide to pass this without approval from the Sunnis?

If that last answer is Yes, we may have some big, big problems.

[GeorgeGist]

11. So they agreed to disagree on their constitution...

just like Americans!

:sarcasm: Now that's progress :sarcasm:

[The_Casual_Observer]

12. Except, the only two things that make any difference

These guys are as good as rove on spinning shit into gold.

[leftchick]

13. If this really does come to fruition. Remember the USA wrote it

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1753758,00.html

"The Americans say they don't intervene, but they have intervened deep," Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish member of the constitution committee, told the paper.

"They gave us a detailed proposal, almost a full version of a constitution. They try to compromise the different opinions of all the political blocs," Othman said.

" The US officials are more interested in the Iraqi constitution than the Iraqis themselves, because they promised their people that it will be done August 15."

According to the paper, US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad is now taking a central role in bringing rival Iraqi political groups together over the draft, offering written compromises on key issues in dispute, like regional autonomy and the role of Islam in Iraqi law.

.... Khalilzad installed the US version of Democracy in Afghanistan as well.

[SeattleVet]

14. Since they are having so much trouble coming up with a Constitution

under the deadlines that were imposed, can we let them have ours?

We certainly aren't using it at this time.

[PaulaFarrell]

16. Have just watched the news in England

It's agreed by both stations NO AGREEMENT WAS MADE. The parliament (??) has asked for another week. Can't believe it's being spun this way. Totally false.

[DemExpat]

17. Here as well.....link to Herald Tribune:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/15/news/iraq.php

DemEx