An agreement between the Shiites and the Kurds has been reached,
Quotes about shiites (16 Quotes)
Despite the very real possibility that pushing through a draft constitution over Sunni Arab objections could prolong the violence, the Shiites and Kurds are pressing their agendas as if they had no understanding that such dire consequences were a serious possibility.
There is no real Arab empathy with the hundreds of women and children in Iraq killed on a daily basis at the hands of criminal terrorists who come from the Arab countries -- These criminals and executioners, who consider the Shiites -- who constitute the majority in Iraq -- to be infidels, and consider the Kurds - the second largest nationality in Iraq-to be traitors, are glorified by the Arab press.
We have warned our neighbors - our Arab brothers, our Islamic brothers - that the new Iraq is going to be a different one, ... It's always been taken by those who oppose change in Iraq that Iraq has been hijacked - by the Americans, by the Israelis, by the Kurds, by the Shiites - to strip it from its Arab womb. ... If you care so much, why don't you have embassies Why don't you send ambassadors.
We need a regional strategy that persuades Iraq's neighbors to wield their influence with the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds for political compromise. They will do it, because no one other than the terrorists has an interest in Iraq descending into civil war,
I think the Shiites want a theocracy.
By this evening an agreement should be reached between the Kurds and the Shiites on remaining outstanding issues.
A constitution that is a deal between the Shiites and Kurds is not a deal.
Such a criminal act will definitely arouse passion among Shiites -- they (insurgents) want the Shiites to attack the Sunnis and that will serve the insurgents' purpose. They want to trigger sectarian crisis.
For instance, I was a little surprised that the Shiites didn't rise up against Saddam and the Baath party across most of the country when the Americans moved in March and April of 2003.
The constitution should have been a national compact, but the final product has pushed Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Shiites further apart, setting them on a path toward civil war and the dissolution of the country.
Since sectarian war is already underway between Sunni Arabs and Shiites in Baghdad and some other parts of the country, it is hard to see how a centralized Iraq run by Shiites could serve the interests of its Sunni population.
The UN should arrange, as US forces leave, for an international group of peacekeepers and negotiators from the Arab countries to bring together Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, and work out a solution for self-governance that would give all three groups a share in political power. Simultaneously, the UN should arrange for shipments of food and medicine, from the United States and other countries, as well as engineers to help rebuild the country.
If they make the deadline because the Shiites and Kurds essentially rammed a draft through over Sunni Arab objections, there will be hell to pay.
The main danger is that the constitution ratifies and exacerbates the sectarian divisions within the country, ... Both the process through which it was done and the content are deepening the divide between Kurds and Shiites on one side and the Sunnis on the other. If the constitution is only approved by only two of the three communities, it will only be a confirmation of Iraq's sectarian and ethnic divisions rather than an attempt to overcome them. This has not advanced the process of reconciliation it has only more likely is a step backward.
The Shiites in the south and the Kurds in the north would need to join together, but the Kurds are more interested in independence. Iran, Syria and Turkey are unlikely to support an independent Kurd state because of their significant Kurdish populations, and others in Iraq will not support overthrowing Saddam if they think it will result in a breakup of the country.