Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Iraq's Constitutional Convention
There has been some consternation on the delay in getting a brand spanking new Constitution approved in Iraq. This concern is understandable, but probably unnecessary. In fact, I’m almost a little happy that they haven’t rushed headlong into the process merely to get something, anything out there over the objections of a large minority of those involved.
Clearly we should be concerned if the delay mounts into months, but that is rather unlikely. It seems that they will be able to negotiate an agreement in the coming week, and they will have a constitution that mandates a fair degree of federalism and also will divvy up the oil revenues so that it is more evenly distributed. Politically, this makes sense for the country.
Getting back to the delay, we need a little perspective. Our very own framers locked themselves up in Philadelphia for four months, and having just finished reading the Convention debates once again, it’s remarkable that they agreed to anything at all. I simply lost count of how many times they discussed the mode of electing the President, and how many times they changed their mind. And once the final copy was ready to be sent to the states, several delegates had turned against it, particularly Luther Martin, who would be one of the leading figures among the anti-Federalists.
Of course that’s not to say that the framing of the American constitution and the Iraqi constitution are the same thing, but it would be foolish to expect it to go smoothly or quickly. Luckily some of the more onerous features – such as the enshrinement of Sharia law – have not been incorporated (it will be a guiding principle, not the guiding principle).
I’m not sure what to expect, though I’m sure it will not be a replica of our own constitution. (There we go getting into cultural differences again). I’m not really sure what we should want out of an Iraqi constitution. But at any rate, I am not terribly concerned that it’s taking a bit longer to achieve an accord. I take it as a sign that the majority understands it cannot and should not ignore the wishes of the Sunni minority.
Compromise – there’s a concept that might make the Middle East a more hospitable place in the long run.
Clearly we should be concerned if the delay mounts into months, but that is rather unlikely. It seems that they will be able to negotiate an agreement in the coming week, and they will have a constitution that mandates a fair degree of federalism and also will divvy up the oil revenues so that it is more evenly distributed. Politically, this makes sense for the country.
Getting back to the delay, we need a little perspective. Our very own framers locked themselves up in Philadelphia for four months, and having just finished reading the Convention debates once again, it’s remarkable that they agreed to anything at all. I simply lost count of how many times they discussed the mode of electing the President, and how many times they changed their mind. And once the final copy was ready to be sent to the states, several delegates had turned against it, particularly Luther Martin, who would be one of the leading figures among the anti-Federalists.
Of course that’s not to say that the framing of the American constitution and the Iraqi constitution are the same thing, but it would be foolish to expect it to go smoothly or quickly. Luckily some of the more onerous features – such as the enshrinement of Sharia law – have not been incorporated (it will be a guiding principle, not the guiding principle).
I’m not sure what to expect, though I’m sure it will not be a replica of our own constitution. (There we go getting into cultural differences again). I’m not really sure what we should want out of an Iraqi constitution. But at any rate, I am not terribly concerned that it’s taking a bit longer to achieve an accord. I take it as a sign that the majority understands it cannot and should not ignore the wishes of the Sunni minority.
Compromise – there’s a concept that might make the Middle East a more hospitable place in the long run.
# posted by Paul Zummo : 11:54 PM
