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Iraqi Parliament Awaits Constitution

Posted on: Monday, 22 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi leaders finished their draft constitution Monday and prepared to submit it to parliament - but without critical approval of the Sunni Arab community whose support is key to ending the insurgency.

The parliament was gathering with just minutes remaining before a midnight deadline to adopt the constitution, which still faced fierce resistance from minority Sunnis over the issue of federalism, which they fear could cut them out of most of the country's vast oil wealth.

Sunni negotiator Saleh al-Mutlaq said there was no consensus and there may be another extension for the draft.

"There is still no agreement and if they want to hand the draft today they will be violating the law," al-Mutlaq told The Associated Press as parliament gathered to receive the draft. "We are calling for accord and it is impossible to reach agreement in the next half an hour."

He added that points of disagreement include several issues such as federalism and ridding the Iraqi government of members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.

He said that if the draft is handed to the assembly, "we will tell the Iraqi people that this constitution is not suitable for the Iraqis and that they should register their names and vote against the constitution."

The first deadline to adopt a constitution expired a week ago, with Parliament voting to extend it for seven days. The legislature supposedly must disband if the deadline is not met, but a further extension was a possibility.

Shiites and Kurds have enough seats in parliament to win approval for a draft without the Sunni Arabs. But the Sunni minority could scuttle the constitution when voters decide whether to ratify it in the Oct. 15 referendum. Under current rules, the constitution would be defeated if it is opposed by two-thirds of the voters in three of Iraq's 18 provinces. Sunni Arabs form the majority in at least four.

In addition, an attempt by Shiites and Kurds to win parliamentary agreement without the Sunnis could risk a backlash within the community that is at the forefront of the insurgency and undercut U.S. hopes to begin withdrawing troops next year.

The Kurds demand federalism to protect their self-rule in three northern provinces. Sunni Arabs oppose that, fearing Kurds want to declare independence. Shiites are divided, with factions supporting federalism wanting to build a Shiite region in the south.

The showdown on the constitution came as violence persisted in Iraq.

The U.S. military said two U.S. soldiers from Task Force Liberty were killed Monday by a roadside bomb during a combat patrol north of Baghdad, and two more soldiers died when their vehicle overturned during a military operation near Tal Afar. At least 1,870 U.S. troops have died since the Iraq war started in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

President Bush defended the war in Iraq on Monday in the face of growing skepticism, asserting that "a policy of retreat and isolation will not bring us safety" from terrorism.

"The only way to defend to our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live," Bush said in Salt Lake City in a speech to the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

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Associated Press correspondents Bassem Mroue, Sameer N. Yacoub and Omar Sinan contributed to this report.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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