Send Cans of Jolt to: Iraqi National Assembly...
The slippery business of becoming Oil Minister (AKA Bush-buddy For Life) is just one of the things making it clear that having an election is one thing, having a democracy another. Here's what The New York Times reports about the state of Iraq:
Iraqi political leaders said today that the delay in forming a new government would probably force them to postpone by half a year the writing of a permanent constitution and the next set of elections.
[...]
Prominent assembly members said it appeared the deadline for a first draft of the constitution would have to pushed back six months beyond the original deadline of Aug. 15.
C'mon, there's no Arabic phrase for "pull an all-nighter"?
The afternoon meeting of the assembly, which spiraled down into a shouting match, revealed how the bitter negotiations to form a government were poisoning the entire political process and fracturing the major political blocs, already divided along ethnic and sectarian lines.
Rumor has it that the Shiites are already exploring a "nuclear option," where, as the majority, they could simply ignore anything the Kurds or Sunnis had to say. One Shiite leader insisted, "We are doing our best to learn from America's democracy."
Iraqi political leaders said today that the delay in forming a new government would probably force them to postpone by half a year the writing of a permanent constitution and the next set of elections.
[...]
Prominent assembly members said it appeared the deadline for a first draft of the constitution would have to pushed back six months beyond the original deadline of Aug. 15.
C'mon, there's no Arabic phrase for "pull an all-nighter"?
The afternoon meeting of the assembly, which spiraled down into a shouting match, revealed how the bitter negotiations to form a government were poisoning the entire political process and fracturing the major political blocs, already divided along ethnic and sectarian lines.
Rumor has it that the Shiites are already exploring a "nuclear option," where, as the majority, they could simply ignore anything the Kurds or Sunnis had to say. One Shiite leader insisted, "We are doing our best to learn from America's democracy."
posted by George at 3:30 PM
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