I wonder what the odds are that 30 days will do it?
Iraqi Panel Asks for Delay on Constitution By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 38 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The committee writing the new Iraqi constitution decided Sunday to ask parliament for a 30-day extension to finish the draft, members said. The decision marks a setback to U.S. efforts to maintain political momentum to combat the insurgency.
The formal request will be submitted to parliament Monday, committee members said.
Under the original deadline, the National Assembly had until Aug. 15 to approve the charter and submit it to a national referendum in mid-October. That formula was strongly supported by the Americans. But major differences remain among the ethnic and religious groups represented on the committee.
Before the meeting on Sunday, the committee chairman, Humam Hammoudi, said he would recommend a 30-day extension. After the meeting, one of the framers, Bahaa al-Araji, said the recommendation had been accepted.
Al-Araji said Kurdish delegates wanted a six-month delay but the Shiites and Sunni Arabs decided to ask for 30 more days.
The United States had mounted considerable pressure on the Iraqis to meet the Aug. 15 deadline. U.S. officials believe momentum in the political process is essential to luring away Sunni Arabs from the insurgency so American and other foreign troops can begin withdrawing next year.
The main points in dispute include such issues as federalism, dual nationality and the role of Islam.
The violence continued Sunday when a car bomb exploded south of Baghdad, killing five civilians and wounding 10, including two policemen. The bomb targeted a police vehicle as it was passing on a main road near the town of Haswa, 30 miles south of Baghdad, said police Capt. Muthanna Khaled Ali.
Five U.S. soldiers were also killed by roadside bombs in two separate incidents in Baghdad, the U.S. military said Sunday.
In the first attack Saturday around 1:40 p.m., a patrol hit a roadside bomb in the southern Dora neighborhood, killing a soldier from Task Force Baghdad, a statement said. Two others were wounded in that incident. Later that evening, around 11 p.m., four Task Force Baghdad soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded in southwestern Baghdad.
Roadside bombs killed two British contractors as well on Saturday in southern Iraq and at least seven people in the capital. The Britons, who worked for the security firm Control Risks Group, were guarding a British consulate convoy in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad. Two Iraqi children were wounded when a second device exploded five minutes later, police said.
Britain has some 8,500 troops in Iraq, mostly in the south. Its military headquarters is based in Basra, where Britain also has a consulate general's office. |
