Iraqi Draft Constitution Angers all the Right People

The Iraqi Draft Constitution was approved by parliament, but not everybody is happy-

The Sunnis mainly object to provisions allowing the creation of a semi-autonomous regional zones in the Shia south, which they say will splinter Iraq and allow Iran to establish a foothold.

The Sunnis have also called on the document to uphold Iraq’s “Arab identity” - a demand rejected by the Kurds - and opposed its ban on the Ba’ath party. Followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shia cleric, said they would join Sunnis in opposing the draft, even though they said the document’s ban on former Ba’athists was too weak.

Beautiful! The Shias are pissed because the Sunnis are getting too much of what they want, and the Sunnis are pissed because the Shias are getting too much of what they want, and the Kurds are not getting screwed over. And now, because there is a referendum coming, the people will be allowed to VOTE- AGAIN!!! on how their country will be ruled.

I know any glass can be called empty; a person can look at a glass that is 9/10ths full and demand the glass be shattered because it is 1/10th empty. Hell, a glass so full that the liquid is actually ABOVE the rim, held there by water tension alone, can somehow be called empty if a liberal decides it is so… But hearing who is pissed, and about what, brings me a lot of joy and hope for Iraq. I hope some of the liberals in the blogosphere feel the same.

Watching Iraq take baby steps, or take one step forward and two steps back, or make many missteps, or step in the wrong direction, or follow in the wrong footsteps- yet continually, somehow, move towards democracy, I think of a butt-ugly caterpillar turning into a butterfly.

Notice that the transformative steps aren’t pretty.