Ciao!

I think this new interim constitution will help pave the road for the exit of the US military from Iraq, and set some groundwork for Iraqi self governance.

But the constitution is only an interim one, and what likely comes next is an election (which, concurring the Grand Ayatollah Sistani, calls for elections at this year's end or in early 2005). After the election, in theory, comes the writing of a permanent constitution, which will be endorsed by referendum. So the interim constitution has a half-life of about a year.

It's hard to say what shape the permanent constitution will take, the type of representation established (proportionate or equal), the role of Islam, and Kurd autonomy.

This week's issue of the Economist did a piece on the new Iraqi constitution, worth checking out.

Let's hope the Shiites and Kurds don't take the terrorist's bait and start killing Sunnis...

I'm fairly confident/optimistic. After all, the major differences were addressed in the interim one, and will mostly likely remain (at least in general form) into the next version. Of course, the issue of Kurd autonomy's been tabled for later discussion — but I'm not troubled by that, since I think it allowed the interim document to move forward. Also, I think some time of operating as a state (if done democratically) might encourage the Kurds to stay.

I especially liked the semi-secular nature of the document. While it declares the Koran "a source" for law, it's not the only source. It's a good compromise.