Iraqis Fail to Agree on Constitution

[hadrons]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi leaders failed to meet a key deadline Monday to finish a new constitution, stalling over the same fundamental issues of power-sharing — including federalism, oil wealth and Islam's impact on women — that have bedeviled the country since Saddam Hussein's ouster.

Just 20 minutes before midnight, parliament voted to give negotiators another seven days, until Aug. 22, to try to draft the charter. The delay was a strong rebuff of the Bush administration's insistence that the deadline be met, even if some issues were unresolved, to maintain political momentum and blunt Iraq's deadly insurgency.

"We should not be hasty regarding the issues and the constitution should not be born crippled," said Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite, after the parliament session, which lasted a bare 15 minutes. "We are keen to have an early constitution, but the constitution should be completed in all of its items."

....

The Shiites said the unresolved issues were women's rights, which is inextricably tied to Islam's role, and the right of Kurds to eventually secede from the country. But al-Jaafari said the key stumbling blocks were distribution of oil wealth and federalism, another, broader way of stating the Kurdish autonomy issue.

The confusion over outstanding issues — as well as negotiators' seeming inability to agree even on what they disagreed on — left unclear whether they will now reopen talks on all issues or just focus on a few.

....

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050816/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq



Iraq's President Jalal Talabani gives words of support to the National Assembly after the election ... hmmm, looks like Bush taught him something

[FloridaPat]

1. Last I heard the oil wells are still to be sold to a US company. Once

that's done, you can bet the money will not be trickling down to the average Iraqi. So they can throw out that concern.

[rocktivity]

2. And the money won't trickle down to the average American

in the form of lower gas prices, either...

:headbang:
rocknation

[oasis]

3. This will be downplayed by the corporate media.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[mikeytherat]

5. (from Tom Tomorrow) -- Best Subhead EVER

http://www.thismodernworld.com/weblog/mtarchives/week_2005_08_14.html#002375

One week to solve issues over Islam, Oil Wealth, and Political Power

IOW, just a few minor details...

mikey_the_rat

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[The_Casual_Observer]

7. Licey seems a little nervous yesterday, after chimp pushed her

out on the stage to break the bad news. She had that high pitched breathless thing going on. I doubt this is going to get resolved in a lifetime, much less one week.