More Debate On The Iraqi Constitution May Be The Better Option

The Bush Administration is hopeful that the Iraqi constitution may pass. Yet because of so many limitations, failure of the constitution, and more constructive debate may well be the better option.

One of the best signs was that many Sunni voters made an effort to vote against the constitution. Compared to the ongoing Sunni support for insurgent violence including planting roadside bombs, using suicide attacks against innocent civilians, or shooting at American soldiers, the fact that many Sunni voters are expressing their opinion about the constitution at the polls rather than insurgent street violence is a constructive step.

The current draft of the Iraqi constitution is hardly a document intended for a future united state of Iraq, Instead it is more of a dissolution document in which the oil assets are divied between the Shiite and Kurdish ethnic groups, only leaving the 22% Sunni minority the sand Western Iraq as a natural resource. More debate onthe Iraqi constitution would likely lead to a document in which a united state of Iraq is actually planned for the future. If Iraq should splinter into three ethnic states, the problems for the U.S. in regards to the policy of these three states would be greatly complicated. Turkey is wary of Kurdish intentions to seek a state of Kurdistan which would involve part of Turkey, and current ethnic tensions among the Turkish Kurdish community would be greatly worsened. And the Shiite state may seek very close relations with Iran, and become either a near satellite state or even worse, annexed. And a Sunni state may well become the haven for terrorists that would be the worst fears of Washington.

Women are not really happy that their role in Iraq seems to be compromised in the current Iraqi constitution. And those seekng a more modern, more secular Arab state, are concerned about the role of the Muslim faith that seems to be heavily part of the current document. There is one of the largest Christian communities in the MidEast in Iraq, as well as a small Jewish community in this state. Both of these minority religious groups may face increased religious persecution if the Muslim faith is officially embraced in the current Iraqi constitution.

The exit of American troops from Iraq is not really tied to the success of the Iraqi constitution. The exit of American soldiers is tied to a success of the Iraqi military and police as a force to defend their own country. And whether the U.S. actually intends to completely exit from Iraq is also an issue. Congress recently approved $500 million for permanent American military base construction in Iraq. And Paul Wolfowitz testified before congress at a time prior to the 2003 Iraq War, about the need for an American military presense in Iraq to secure the Strait Of Hormuz oil pathway that is under Iranian control. And the U.S. has sought military bases in former Soviet and Warsaw Pact states, and still maintains military bases in Japan, Germany and Korea, with little sign of leaving in the near future. One airbase in Germany was recently returned to German control. But bases established since the end of WWII will still remain for the foreseeable future.

What's positive in Iraq is that it has democratic elections. It has elected representatives, and that many in the Sunni community bothered to vote rather than support insurgent activity. These are far better factors than whether the Iraqi constitution passes or fails. If the Iraqi constitution would fail, it would be shortsighted for the media to see it merely as a defeat for America or the Bush Administration. Instead it might well be in the better intersts of Iraq to have more debate on a constitution, that would involve more and more Sunni participation in the debate, and to create a far better document that would help to secure a single united Iraq state for the future.