Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Uncategorized

Is Us Still Tinkering With Iraqi

Juan Cole 08/30/2005

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

Is the US Still Tinkering with the Iraqi Constitution?

A closer observer of the Iraq scene writes in outrage:

Filed at 9:43 a.m. ET

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — The U.S. ambassador suggested Tuesday there may be further changes to the draft constitution to win Sunni Arab approval, saying he believed a final edited draft had not been presented.

‘ For God’s and our sake, please someone tell them (and yell, if necessary) to leave it alone for now.

The President, for God’s sake, blessed the process to the world and it is over, there being nothing in the TAL, any other law or in common political or jurisprudential sense, which justifies or even remotely supports reopening the document, which, anyway, may already be printed in 5-6 million copies.

They could be on the way to screwing this all up (again), and this time around it WOULD BE VERY CONSEQUENTIAL, if they do. It is they who did not postpone the elections, held under not “free and fair” conditions in parts of several Provinces. It is they who said that The Schedule must be maintained at all costs. So STICK TO YOUR BLOODY SCHEDULE NOW.

What, if anything, is he thinking?

They panicked in the White House in November 2003 and produced the “Agreement on Political Process,” which included the non-starter caucuses and was not an agreement, and the faux sovereignty, which is causing so much of the trouble. They seem to be panicking again. Leaders of “world’s only super-powers” do not panic for all the world to see.

This could now be beyond even nuts. ‘

COLE: There are indeed rumors flying around of continued changes in the draft of the constitution. All sorts of key issues, from Iraq’s Arab identity to human rights are still in flux. Major politicians have left or are leaving the country, which means any tinkering is being done in their absence!

It is the damnedest thing.

Al-Watan (Riyadh) [Arabic link] reports that one Sunni member of the parliamentary drafting committee told it that Washington at one point promised $5 million apiece to tthe Sunnis on the committee if they would sign off on the constitution.

Sy Hersh has also alleged bribery.

It is certainly the case that a lot of money is being spread around for cooperativeness. I was told that one high Iraqi official received one million dollars a month for serving in the interim government of Iyad Allawi, and recently went on a shopping spree at Harrod’s in London where he spent $1 million on gifts for his second wife. [We guys object to this sort of thing on two grounds. First, it gives the impression of corruption or at the least overly high living on the part of a public servant. Second, the expectations of wives just shouldn’t be raised this way, especially those of second wives.] This politician supports the constitution.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • Top Things You Still Think You Know About Iran that are Not True
  • Why Trump Bombed Iran: Preserving US and Israeli Nuclear Supremacy in the Middle East
  • The Current Iran War will Likely end Soon, but the Arms Race will Heat Up
  • Trump's contravention of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal Led to Israel-Iran Escalation
  • Colonial Logic, not Jewish Wisdom Guides Israel's Wars

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved