Bush touts Iraq charter but warns of new threats

By Adam Entous and Jeremy Pelofsky

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) – President Bush on Sunday
praised Iraq’s draft constitution as a step toward full
democracy and sought to play down the extent of Sunni
opposition, but he predicted an upcoming referendum would spark
a new wave of “atrocities.”

“As democracy in Iraq takes root, the enemies of freedom,
the terrorists, will become more desperate, more despicable,
and more vicious,” Bush warned.

Despite his personal appeal last week to Iraqi Shi’ites to
cut a deal with Sunni Arabs, Bush acknowledged that “some
Sunnis have expressed reservations about various provisions of
the constitution.”

“That’s their right,” Bush said. But he added, “There are
strong beliefs among other Sunnis that this constitution is
good for all Iraqis and that it adequately reflects compromises
suitable to all groups.”

With nearly 1,900 U.S. troops killed in Iraq and anti-war
protester Cindy Sheehan camped out near his vacation ranch,
Bush has seen his job approval ratings plummet to the lowest
levels of his presidency.

Bush wanted to clinch a Sunni-Shi’ite deal on the
constitution to boost public confidence in his policies and
undercut an insurgency some fear is spiraling into a full-blown
civil war.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, called the
rejection of Iraq’s draft constitution by Sunni negotiators “an
enormous setback,” adding that “no amount of spin from the
administration can hide this basic fact.”

The U.S. ambassador in Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, warned on
CNN’s “Late Edition”: “If the Sunnis do not buy into this draft
… then it would be a problem. It could assist the
insurgency.”

Bush said “the political process now advances to another
important stage for a new and free Iraq,” and called on Iraqis
to “actively engage in the constitutional process by debating
the merits of this important document and making an informed
decision” in the October 15 referendum.

While not predicting the outcome of the vote, Bush said
“this is a document of which the Iraqis and the rest of the
world can be proud.”

Citing the spate of recent insurgent attacks killing
civilians, Bush predicted, “We can expect such atrocities to
increase in the coming months because the enemy knows that its
greatest defeat lies in the expression of free people in freely
enacted laws and at the ballot box.”

An estimated 25,000 civilians were killed in just the first
two years after the war began, according to Iraq Body Count, a
U.S.-British nonprofit group.

ANTI-WAR VIGIL CONTINUES

As Bush touted the Iraqi constitution on his ranch, civil
rights activist and one-time Democratic presidential candidate
Al Sharpton joined Sheehan at her vigil nearby.

“This is not about what party you’re part of. This is about
right and wrong,” said Sharpton. He called Sheehan, whose son
was killed in Iraq, “the conscience of this nation.”

But Sheehan’s call for withdrawing troops ran into
opposition on Sunday from Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, a
member of the Senate Democratic leadership. “If we withdrew
tomorrow there would be a blood bath in Iraq. We can’t do
that,” Dorgan told Fox News Sunday.

Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, also warned on
Sunday that “a premature withdrawal would be catastrophic in
its consequences.” He called the Pentagon to send at least an
additional 15,000 to 20,000 troops and “improve our tactics”
against the insurgency.

Despite Sunni reservations, Bush said the draft
constitution “contains far-reaching protections for fundamental
human freedoms including religion, assembly, conscience and
expression.”

“It declares that all Iraqis are equal before the law
without regard to gender, ethnicity and religion,” Bush said.

(Additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal)