Be
critical with Iraq news
When the Washington Post quoted U.S. Gen. George Casey Jr. as saying “the
Iraqis are at 98 percent registered” to participate in the upcoming constitutional
referendum, it was clear he viewed this as positive. However, as is often the
case in Iraq, the truth is much more
complicated.
Indeed, the constitution seems to be as good an example as any for what is wrong
in Iraq right now and the challenges involved in making it right.
It would indeed be encouraging that Iraq’s Sunnis, who largely sat out
the parliamentary elections in January, now seem eager to vote in the constitutional
poll — if their motivation were not a desire to vote it down.
The constitution’s Shiite and Kurdish framers made some effort to include
Sunnis in the document’s drafting process, but facing an impasse over the
central issue of federalism — Sunnis demanding a centralized government
and Kurds seeking substantial autonomy — the Shia and Kurds are now taking
their chances without Sunni support.
As we have repeatedly noted, Sunni engagement in Iraq’s political process
is essential to divorcing the ongoing insurgency from its base of popular support.
We saw hopeful signs when Iraq’s new leaders promised to reach out after
January’s historic election, just as we had earlier hoped the election
itself could be made to involve all parties. However, those leaders now seem
likely to divide the country further while pursuing the illusion of progress.
But faced with the democratic danger of Sunni opposition leading to defeat at
the ballot box, Iraq’s elected leaders opted to alter the election’s
rules.
A rule change on Sunday declared that two-thirds of registered voters
in three separate provinces would need to vote against the constitution for it
to be vetoed, while a simple majority of actual voters nationwide could approve
it.
News accounts suggest that the effort was reversed more because of the United
Nations’ condemnation than by Sunnis’ fierce objections. Iraq’s
leaders seem to be focused more on arbitrary deadlines than workable solutions — essentially
the same thinking that drove the American-led effort that came before. Iraqis
may have adopted the worst traits of our approach to reconstruction there.
Iraq today is largely a story of foolish missteps compounding others, leaving
us with quite a mess. We are far past the point where we can effectively tell
Iraqis how to run their country, but we are still responsible for making Iraq
secure, thanks largely to our failure to train anyone else for the job.
But,
overall, we must acknowledge and make clear to Iraqis themselves that symbolic
milestones matter less than a genuine political culture that rejects violent
rebellion and respects the rule of law.
This
column originally appeared in The Daily
Iowan in the University of Iowa. |
