Iraq's Achievement (Don't Write Off New Constitution As A Failure Already Alert)

Opinionjournal.com ^ | 08/31/05 | Wall Street Journal Editorial

[goldstategop]

So here's a radical thought: How about letting Iraqis debate and vote on their new national charter before we Americans summarily denounce it as a failure?...

By any existing Middle East standard, the new constitution is a great achievement. It promises to protect human rights, including free speech and the right to worship. It applies the very American principle of federalism, or decentralized power, to reassure multiethnic regions and various Muslim denominations and thus keep the country together.

For all of Iraq's security problems, the present moment is one of remarkable promise. A constitution, written in a spirit of compromise rare in the Middle East, has now been adopted by a freely elected, multiethnic, multidenominational Muslim government. This government now intends to put the constitution to a vote and--what's more amazing--abide by the result.

Four years ago, such a scenario for Iraq would have seemed improbable, to say the least. That it should now be denounced as inadequate is perhaps the best measure of how much progress a free Iraq has made.

[goldstategop]

A Free Iraq a failure? Seems the Left sees failure where there are grounds for optimism. Iraq's new proposed constitution is a landmark in government in the Middle East. For the first time in Arab/Muslim history, the highest law of the state promises to ensure human rights, promote decentralized power and share revenue fairly. Iraq has come a long way since its liberation from the Ba'ath Party dictatorship in April 2003. And the forthcoming Oct. 15 referedum, preceded by a nation-wide debate, will be an unprecedented exercise in how Muslims can govern themselves in a free country. We should wish them well in their endeavors in establishing freedom for themselves and their posterity.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Kryptonite]

Mark Belling (occasional Rush fill-in) was talking about this; it's a powerful argument, because even if a free Iraq requires amending their constitution, the bottom line is that Iraqis are voting for the future of their country.

That's a first that rises above everything else.

[WOSG]

"Most important, the constitution allocates oil revenues on a per-capita basis, meaning the oil-poor Sunni regions will be net beneficiaries of the oil-rich Kurdish north and Shiite south. All this amounts to the best deal Sunnis can reasonably expect in a new Iraq, and we suspect more than a few of them know it. Many Sunni leaders will acknowledge this privately, but they don't want to say it publicly lest they become targets of assassination from the terrorists who want chaos over any kind of government."

Expect a YES victory ...
also, thank President Bush for his leadership on this.

[Just A Nobody]

We should wish them well in their endeavors in establishing freedom for themselves and their posterity.

Yes we should! Congratulations to our Iraqi friends and the very best wishes as you continue to strive for liberty and freedom with representative government for all.

[TomasUSMC]

It promises to protect human rights, including free speech and the right to worship.

---

The constitution STARTS OFF with:

CHAPTER ONE: BASIC PRINCIPLES

Article (1): The Republic of Iraq is an independent, sovereign nation, and the system of rule in it is a democratic, federal, representative (parliamentary) republic.

Article (2):

1st -- I S L A M is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation:

(a) No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of -- I S L A M.

------
Any promises to protect human rights, including free speech and the right to worship fall prey to the 2 previous clauses and thus can be vetoed by the ruling Shiite majority.

Ah, the 60 percent Shiite majority -

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari
He is a Shiite and was previously one of the two vice-presidents of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Government in 2004, and the main spokesman for the Islamic Dawa Party in Iraq
....... which is closely politically aligned with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI)

......... a radical group that enjoys a close relationship with Iran's revolutionary Mullah regime.

Asked if his government would institute Islamic Shari'a law, al-Jaafari replied: "Yes … that is only natural in a country that is populated mainly by Muslims."

"This is a new chapter in relations with Iraq," enthused Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref during al-Jaafari's visit. Agha Panayi, an Iranian intelligence official, has offered a similarly enthusiastic assessment: "Throughout Iraq, the people we supported are in power."

This is a terrible constitution, you don't have to wait to know that, its all written down right there. Hopefully in the next few days, we can get these two Koranic Veto Clauses changed, otherwise our troops are fighting, not for Iraqi Freedom but for Iraqi Islamic bondage.

Our Troops should fight to finally bring about Enduring Freedom
Our Troops should NOT fight to end up with another Islamic Oil Rich country that, in the final analysis, will consider our outstanding Troops and the USA...

"Conradictory to ISLAM"


MacArthur did not allow the Japanese to continue with their Tojo Militaristic culture of Warriors and Expansion. Not only did he IMPOSE a constitution on the radical, head chopping, suicidal Japanese but he included a NO War Clause. The Japanese had never in thousands of years experienced Democracy and we forced it on them. Today the are thankful that we did.

This prescription that MacArthur prescribed in '45 cured a totally insane culture. Today we have another totally insane culture

IT NEEDS THE SAME MEDICINE. Tagline:

[december12]

Many of those in the MSM calling the Constitution a failure really mean that it wasn't endorsed by the Sunnis in the drafting group. This fits a long series of editorials in US media basically taking the Sunni POV.

I've seen little analysis of the actual document. I'd be interested in comparisons of it to other Arab or Muslim democracies, such as Turkey, Indonesia and Afghanistan.

[OESY]

MORE:


The majority Shiites, far from seeking to dominate other ethnic groups from Baghdad, are asking largely for the power to govern themselves. The entire country will now spend six weeks debating all of this leading up to an October referendum that will be freer and more open than the presidential election that Egypt will hold this coming weekend....

Most important, the constitution allocates oil revenues on a per-capita basis, meaning the oil-poor Sunni regions will be net beneficiaries of the oil-rich Kurdish north and Shiite south. All this amounts to the best deal Sunnis can reasonably expect in a new Iraq, and we suspect more than a few of them know it. Many Sunni leaders will acknowledge this privately, but they don't want to say it publicly lest they become targets of assassination from the terrorists who want chaos over any kind of government.

The larger truth here is that Americans have no choice but to let Iraqis sort these basic questions out for themselves....