So, in the last days before the constitutional referendum, leaders in Iraq have struck a deal to bring the Sunnis on board. The New York Times calls it "an important last-minute change in the draft constitution." The Washington Post notes that "Iraq's top Shiite and Kurdish leaders publicly agreed Wednesday to what they said were Sunni Arab demands for the new constitution." The Associated Press sees "last-minute compromises." Iraqi President Jalal Talibani held a major press conference this morning to announce the deal, with speakers that included the leaders of Iraq's most powerful political parties and a few noteworthy Sunnis. It's true American-style democracy: lots of style and no substance.

The deal the negotiators reached yesterday night agrees on a mechanism to consider amending the constitution after it is approved in Saturday’s nationwide vote.

The next parliament, to be formed in December, will set up a commission to consider amendments, which would later have to be approved by parliament and submitted to another referendum. That would give Sunnis the ability to try later to introduce...

That's not an agreement, it's a campaign promise. Condi's or Jalal's, remains to be seen.

Its a pretty tenuous agreement, apparently meant to buy time. If time stands still, it will work, but time doesn't usually do that. - UT clock-watcher

Posted by  Anonymous @ 12:32 AM

 

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