[Kzin]

Iraqi Constitution Talks Falter; Shiites Threaten to Bypass Sunnis
By DEXTER FILKINS

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 25 - Talks over the Iraqi constitution reached a breaking point today, with Shiites leaders saying they had lost patience with a group of Sunni Arab negotiators and had decided to send the document straight to the Iraqi voters for their approval.

The dire situation brought the direct intervention of American officials, who pressed senior Shiite clerical leaders to help them broker a last-minute compromise. The decision by the Shiite leadership to bypass the Sunni Arabs provoked threats from the Sunnis that they would call on their people to reject the constitution when it goes before the voters in October.

Negotiations among the three leading Iraqi factions continued toward midnight, with some leaders saying they would make a last-ditch effort to strike a deal on Friday. But after so many days of fruitless talks, some senior political leaders suggested that time had run out.

"There are still some negotiations, but if we don't have any compromise, then that's it," said Sheik Khalid al-Atiyya, a Shiite member of the constitutional committee. "We will go to the election to vote on it."

The Sunni Arabs continue to disagree with the Shiites and the Kurds over the question of federalism, which would essentially set up powerful local regions instead of a strong central government.

Barring some last-minute deal, the decision by the Shiites to move ahead without the Sunni Arabs would mark a huge blow to efforts by the Bush administration to bring the leaders of the Sunni community into the negotiations over the Iraqi constitution.

American officials here have expressed hope that bringing the Sunni Arabs into the talks on the constitution would help bring them into the political process and ultimately drain away support for the guerrilla insurgency.

The decision by the Shiite leadership raises the troubling prospect that the Sunni Arabs could boycott the referendum on the constitution in October and the elections in December, or that they could nullify the constitution itself.

Under the rules agreed to last year, a two-thirds majority voting against the constitution in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces would send the document down to defeat. The Sunni Arabs are thought to comprise a majority in three provinces.

Tonight, Sunni leaders were declaring that they had been victimized by the majority Shiites, and they were already making plans to sink the constitution at the polls.

"We will call on people to say no to this constitution," said Kamal Hamdoun, a Sunni leader and head of the Iraqi bar association. "This constitution was written by the powerful people, not by the people."

"This constitution achieved the ambitions of the people who are in power," he said.

Earlier today, the Iraqi National Assembly called off a meeting that was scheduled to vote on the draft constitution. The vote on the document was originally deferred Monday by the assembly speaker, Hajim al-Hassani, who said three days of talks would be held to try to win over Sunni Arab negotiators.

President Jalal Talabani, however, struck and optimistic tone soon after the delay was announced.

"Efforts are still continuing to reach consensus in the coming hours," he said at a joint news conference with a Sunni leader, and he emphasized that the Sunnis should get a bigger role in drafting the constitution.

The announcement that Parliament would miss the second extended deadline places the current government on uncertain legal authority. Under the rules that were agreed to last year, the National Assembly is obliged to dissolve itself and hold new elections if it is unable to reach agreement on the interim constitution.

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[FarKalkir]

Solution: put a dictator in power. Much easier.

[StarkofDoom]

Originally Posted by FarKalkir

Solution: put a dictator in power. Much easier.

Yah cause look where that got us before

[FarKalkir]

Originally Posted by StarkofDoom

Yah cause look where that got us before

it wuz a joke u n00b u dont get my sense of humor stop trolling me! I WAS IN THE ARMY YOU FUCK!!

[StarkofDoom]

Originally Posted by FarKalkir

it wuz a joke u n00b u dont get my sense of humor stop trolling me! I WAS IN THE ARMY YOU FUCK!!

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to FarKalkir again.

[KidShazaam]

Originally Posted by FarKalkir

it wuz a joke u n00b u dont get my sense of humor stop trolling me! I WAS IN THE ARMY YOU FUCK!!

Nulag ban't.