An impasse over Iraq’s constitution

What happened

Iraqi leaders this week struggled to break an impasse over a new constitution, with Shiites and Sunnis deadlocked over the role of Islam in the new government and Kurds demanding the right to self-rule. Kurds were insisting that Iraq's first democratic constitution set up a federal system that preserves their autonomy in the north; Sunni representatives to the drafting committee objected, fearing that dividing the country into three, largely autonomous states would leave them as a powerless minority, with little claim to Iraq's oil wealth. Most of Iraq's oil fields are concentrated in the Kurdish north and the Shiite south. Under interim rules, a draft must be completed by Aug. 15. 'œWe are in a race against the clock,' said Mahmoud Othman, a member of the drafting committee.

Bush administration officials were pressing the Iraqis to meet the deadline, saying that giving Sunni Arabs a formal role in a new Iraq would help end support for the insurgency. 'œAll sides need to make compromises,' said U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.

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What the editorials said

So much for a democratic beacon in the Mideast, said Newsday. Leaked drafts of the constitution 'œfall far short' of U.S. ideals for Iraq. It appears to set up a largely Islamic state, with Islamic law trumping 'œbasic individual rights,' such as equal rights for women, freedom of religion, and the right to political dissent. If the Bush administration doesn't exert pressure on the drafting committee to change this backward document, Iraq will resemble Iran more than it does the U.S.

That's way too pessimistic, said the Chicago Tribune. This won't be the first time Iraq has 'œdefied the doubters.' In January, skeptics called for delaying the election of an interim government, saying terrorists would make it a bloodbath. Instead, election day was 'œan inspiring mass repudiation of the terrorists.' Even if the constitution doesn't 'œease all frictions between Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds,' it will mark the 'œstarting point' for making Iraq a nation 'œgrounded in the rule of law.'

What the columnists said

However the constitution comes out, said Paul Findley, also in the Tribune, the U.S. must now announce a date for withdrawing its 140,000 troops'”say, six months from now. The neocons want us to stay until Iraq is at peace, but the U.S. has already paid too high a price, in casualties and in damage to our international reputation. With feuding factions now struggling for power, 'œcivil strife' is inevitable, and it will probably last for years. 'œUltimately, Iraqis will have to solve their own internal conflicts if their nation is to be truly independent.'

The desire to cut and run is 'œunderstandable,' said Frederick W. Kagan in the Los Angeles Times, but 'œwrongheaded.' Despite the insurgents' ability to inflict 'œa steady stream of casualties,' as a military force they are impotent. They can't go 'œtoe-to-toe' with American soldiers. And every day we are training more Iraqi troops to eventually take our place. Pulling out prematurely would only give the insurgency room 'œto grow, perhaps becoming what it now is not'”a real military threat to the government.'

Tell that to the Pentagon, said William Kristol in The Weekly Standard. In recent weeks, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been trying to define victory down; no longer is he saying that it's necessary or even possible to defeat the insurgency. He's now adopted the view of liberal opponents of the war'”that we might as well withdraw and let Iraqis fight the insurgency themselves. Let's hope President Bush does not give in to this 'œdefeatism.' Iraq is, as Bush has said all along, 'œthe central front in the war on terror,' and true victory over the insurgents is our only option.

What next?

The Providence Journal

The Wall Street Journal