Sunnis Offer New Proposals on Constitution

[sabra]

http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2005/08/26/ap/headlines/d8c87er00.txt

Sunnis Offer New Proposals on Constitution

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Sunni Arab negotiator said Saturday that Sunnis submitted counterproposals on Iraq's constitution and would meet with the U.S. ambassador, who has urged the country's factions to produce a charter acceptable to all.

Earlier, parliament Speaker Hajim al-Hassani, himself a Sunni, said Shiites and Kurds had made amendments to address Sunni concerns about federalism and purging former ruling party members. But Sunni negotiator Fakhri al-Qaisi said his side saw no "essential changes" in that offer.

He said Sunnis would not accept the draft described by Shiites and Kurds on Friday as complete. Sunni leaders have urged voters to reject the charter in an Oct. 15 referendum if it does not meet their demands.

Al-Hassani had said the constitution would be submitted to parliament Sunday. The legislature, overwhelmingly Shiite and Kurdish, may vote on it or simply refer it to voters.

[Pirate Smile]

1. Sunnis Cite 13 Problems With Constitution

Sunnis Cite 13 Problems With Constitution By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA,

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Sunni Arab negotiator said Saturday that Sunnis submitted counterproposals on Iraq's constitution and would meet with the U.S. ambassador, who has urged the country's factions to produce a charter acceptable to all.

Earlier, parliament Speaker Hajim al-Hassani, himself a Sunni, said Shiites and Kurds had made amendments to address Sunni concerns about federalism and purging former ruling party members. But Sunni negotiator Fakhri al-Qaisi said his side saw no "essential changes" in that offer.

He said Sunnis would not accept the draft described by Shiites and Kurds on Friday as complete. Sunni leaders have urged voters to reject the charter in an Oct. 15 referendum if it does not meet their demands.

Al-Hassani had said the constitution would be submitted to parliament Sunday. The legislature, overwhelmingly Shiite and Kurdish, may vote on it or simply refer it to voters.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050827/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[ECH1969]

2. Good

The Sunnis are going to torpedo the political process and also torpedo Bush.

[readmylips]

3. US supports the religious extreme....

for now. Sunnis were the progressive educated society of Iraq, and women had the right to higher education. Saddam wasn't so bad after all. I read an article that the plans is to isolate the Sunnis and force them to become a separate country, pushing them into poverty since there are no oil wells in their region. Then, the US can go in and rescue the less educated, dissolve the rats they put in office, and take over all the oil in the region.

[ECH1969]

4. The Sunnis actually want the government

to be more religious. One of their points is they want the language in the Constitution changed from Islam being "a main source of law" to "Islam being the main source of law".

[patdem]

6. I have not heard that the Sunnis want a MORE religious state

this quote is not about more religion...They also insisted the constitution must preserve Iraq's "Arab identity." The current draft refers to Iraq as an Islamic — but not Arab — nation.

If you have information that the Sunnis want a more religious nation, please share it with me, as I am not aware at all?

[Igel]

8. I think a more accurate way of putting it is that the

progressive, educated element of Iraqi was traditionally the Sunni Arabs.

Iraqi Sunni Arabs tend to have a strong Salafist bent, and have for centuries now. Saddam did nobody a favor by encouraging this with his mosque-building/Islamic-institution-supporting policies in the '90s.

[daleo]

9. Here's the plan (as I see it):

The Bush will cause a three fold division of Iraq.

Oil-raq: the part of Iraq with most of the oil and as small a population as an artful partition can manage local population. The U.S. will garrison this heavily.

Sand-raq: an impoverished state with little oil and as much of the current population as an artful partition can manage. The U.S. military will withdraw from this, as much as possible.

Kurd-raq: a small Kurdish state, meant to keep everyone else (Turkey, Syria, Iran) off balance by agitating local Kurdish minorities.

I don't know if this was the plan all along, but it seems to be where they are trying to steer things now.

[TahitiNut]

5. Imagine if the U.S. were trying to write a Constitution in 1860.

:eyes:

[VegasWolf]

7. yes, and utilizing today's elected geniuses to draft it. nt