Some related posts from Technorati and Google.
[Captain's Quarters] Iraq Constitution Passes: More Iraqis voted in this second election since the fall of Saddam than did so in the first, and thanks to the controversial nature of the election, the electorate was more diverse -- and yet almost 80% of Iraqis approved the final version of their new constitution. In the end, only three provinces rejected it, with only two of them reaching the required two-thirds vote for official repudiation.
[ScrappleFace] Iraq Constitution Approval Another Setback for Bush: "At a time when a real leader would be paralyzed with self-doubt over the meaningless deaths of 2,000 American troops, Bush continues to act as if freeing 25 million Iraqis from decades of oppression, torture and death is somehow worth the price paid by those who volunteered to fight."
[TigerHawk] It passed: By TigerHawk at 10/25/2005 07:23:00 AM Iraq's new constitution has been approved, according to official results from the nationwide referendum held earlier this month....But electoral commission officials said 44% of voters in the key province of Nineveh had endorsed the constitution
[Halley's Comment] Detainee Abuse Ban: Get Out Of Jail Free Card: McCain rejected the proposed exemption, which stated that the measure "shall not apply with respect to clandestine counterterrorism operations conducted abroad, with respect to terrorists who are not citizens of the United States, that are carried out by an element of the United States government other than the Department of Defense and are consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and treaties to which the United States is a party, if the president determines that such operations are vital to the protection of the United States or its citizens from terrorist attack."
[Raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com] Raed in the Middle: Despite all the bush administration attempts of showing the anti-occupation movement in Iraq as “Sunni” or “Saddamist” or “Baathist” or whatever other labels were, the Sadr movement has turned the table and proved that Iraqis are against the occupation and all its imposed consequences despite their ethnic and sectarian differences. As-Sadr movement arranged many demonstrations last week, along with other Iraqi political movements around the country, mobilizing tens of thousands of Iraqi protestors asking for a better constitution and better public services.
[Juancole.com] Informed Comment: *Boycotters: The first Sunni-based forces that have defined an attitude toward the constitutional referendum were, of course, for its boycott as a matter of “principle.” They were two: 1) the Ba’ath Party (communiqué of the pan-Arab leadership dated September 9 and communiqué of the Iraqi leadership the same month) calling for a boycott of the referendum to deprive it from any legitimacy (political groups serving as legal facades for the Ba’ath, like the “Supreme Committee of Patriotic Forces-Wahj al-Iraq,” followed suit); and 2) Zarqawi’s al-Qaida branch in Iraq, which did not only warn against any participation in the referendum—from both a “principled” ultra-fundamentalist attitude against any human-made constitution and an anti-occupation stance—but also accompanied its threats with violent actions against those calling for the participation.
[Blogs.washingtonpost.com] The Debate - Taking on the Week's Big Issue: I can see their conflict of interest concern, but I am skeptical that a judge who matched DeLay's political persuasion would have made a different ruling -- is it really all that common for people to be booked without being photographed? Seems like 1) the photograph would be pretty integral to the whole booking process, and 2) some exception must have been made somewhere along the line, given that the big sign displaying name and serial number isn't there.
[Theadventuresofchester.com] The Adventures of Chester: It surely will cause the clerical regime enormous pain as the Iraqis within it, especially those who were once dependent on Iranian aid, continue to distance themselves ever further from Tehran. Primary point to remember: Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who is now certainly the most senior Shiite cleric in both Iraq and Iran, who is of Iranian birth and early education, has embraced a democratic political creed that is anathema to the ruling mullahs of Tehran.
Reflected tags on Technorati: Blog, Democracy, Iraq Reviews
