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Iraq Constitution: Will Bush Declare Theocracy a Victory?

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Mon Aug 22, 2005 at 11:17:31 PM EST
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A three day extension of the deadline for the Iraq Constitution has been granted. Here's the text of the draft. A Bill of Rights, it's not, although it does promise freedom of religion, expression, association, and the press, and states there will be no torture or forced confessions. It also provides that 25% of the Council of Deputies seats will go to women.

In other places, it sounds like it is trying to be all things to all people. One example:

Article Two

The political system is republican, parliamentary, democratic and federal.

1. Islam is a main source for legislation.

-- a. No law may contradict Islamic standards.

-- b. No law may contradict democratic standards.

-- c. No law may contradict the essential rights and freedoms mentioned in this constitution.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune says these are the sticking points. The New York Times writes in an editorial:

Months ago, the United States was assuring skeptics that the secular Kurds would rein in the Shiite religious parties, while the majority Shiites would limit Kurdish separatism. But instead of being counterweights, these two groups seem mainly to have reinforced each other. Washington, desperate for any draft, encouraged their complicity.

....Americans continue dying in Iraq, but their mission creeps steadily downward. The nonexistent weapons of mass destruction dropped out of the picture long ago. Now the United States seems ready to walk away from its fine words about helping the Iraqis create a beacon of freedom, harmony and democracy for the Middle East. All that remains to be seen is whether the White House has become so desperate for an excuse to declare victory that it will settle for an Iranian-style Shiite theocracy.

The next to last word goes to The Who:

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

More:

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

....The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war

So Iraq will become a Theocracy, Bush will declare victory, and the troops will begin coming home. Except for the 1,900 of them that died. If our Government told you in 2003 it wanted your son to go to war in a foreign land to topple a regime and ensure that Islam had its proper place in the replacement government, what would your reaction would have been? I know what mine would have been. I would have laughed out loud - right before slamming the door in its face.

The saddest part is that Bush isn't done yet. He's dooming and grooming us to repeat the error - No WMD's in Iran? . No problem. They're still a threat.

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    Iraq Constitution: Will Bush Declare Theocracy a Victory? | 46 comments (46 topical)
    Re: Iraq Constitution: Will Bush Declare Theocrac (none / 0) (#1)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    Arabic and Kurdish are the two official languages, and Iraqis have the right to teach their sons their mother language like the Turkomen and Assyrian in the government educational institutes.
    The daughters, you ask? Oh, they won't need to talk much, anyway. --------------------------------------- I'm no expert, but from what I gather (a) the Sunnis don't care too much for this document, and (b) Bush thinks it's a triumph for democracy in Iraq. So the 140,000 American troops will now be defending this "constitution". At least Cindy Sheehan will have an answer to her question: This is the worthwhile cause for which American soldiers are dying in Iraq.

    Re: Iraq Constitution: Will Bush Declare Theocrac (none / 0) (#2)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    no torture or forced confessions
    Uh-oh, don't tell Rumsfeld, the party at Abu Ghraib is about to end.

    Re: Iraq Constitution: Will Bush Declare Theocrac (none / 0) (#3)
    by john horse on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    According to Juan Cole, the way that this Constitution is being drafted is a violation of the interim Constitution. According to Cole, "The rule of law is no longer operating in Iraq, and no pretence of constitutional procedure is being striven for." This constitution is being written and passed without the support of the Sunnis. Without Sunni support the insurgency will only continue. But why should the Shiites and Kurds care when it is the Americans who are doing most of the fighting and dying?

    Re: Iraq Constitution: Will Bush Declare Theocrac (none / 0) (#4)
    by swingvote on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    Not thrilled with every detail, but, given the locale, it could be a lot worse than it is. And whatever happened to the alleged love of a diverse society? Does that only count on college campuses? I'm no fan of the stupidity directed at women in Islam (not to mention a few other relgious sects), but are we really asking Bush to step in and tell an entire culture "Sorry guys, but that won't cut it anymore. You have to do it our way beginning right now."? Just imagine the screams of "arrogance" and "imperialism" we would hear if he did.

    Re: Iraq Constitution: Will Bush Declare Theocrac (none / 0) (#5)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:02:37 PM EST
    Look for article 1a to be pulled or soften; it is incompatible with most all other provisions in the constitution. As to a lack of Sunni support, they really have no choice. They are a weak minority with a majority in only the poorest parts (no oil wells) of Iraq. The sticking point for them is the issue of a federal state for the Shia, for obvious reasons. The insurgency really isn’t a bargaining chip for the Sunni; both the Kurds and the Shia, I’m certain, would be more than happy to put it down in a fashion parallel to that used to quell the Kurdish/Shia uprising before the no fly zones. My favorite quote from the discussion of this topic on the News Hour last night. Fouad Ajami, director of Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University's Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
    “room has been given, by the way, for the Sunni Arabs to pretend that they oppose everything as a protection to them, because we know that the assassins have been stalking them and waiting for them.”


    Re: Iraq Constitution: Will Bush Declare Theocrac (none / 0) (#6)
    by