You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Iraq-Jordan
Iraqi leaders settle three of 18 constitution issues
2005-08-13
BAGHDAD - Iraq’s political leaders, racing against time to reach consensus on the draft constitution before Monday’s deadline, have settled three out of 18 outstanding issues, said a source close to the process. “Three points have been settled: the name of Iraq, the question of the peshmerga (or Kurdish militia) and Kirkuk,” the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Iraq will be officially called “Federal Republic of Iraq”, and the peshmerga will be considered a security force for the Kurdish-controlled zone of northern Iraq which wants the de facto autonomy established in 1991 enshrined in the new constitution, the source said. As for the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, whose demography was altered by Saddam Hussein by expelling Kurds and replacing them with Arabs, the situation should be “normalised” by December 15 at the latest, the source said.

Normalisation could revolve around helping thousands of expelled Kurds to return to their lands which were handed to Arabs, mainly Shia from the south, by Saddam. The source did not provide other details. Iraq’s interim constitution had stipulated that the situation in ethnically-mixed Kirkuk should be normalised without giving a deadline.

The remaining points of difference, including the question of federalism and the role of Islam in legislation, are still under discussion with a finished draft required to be presented before parliament on August 15.
Posted by:Steve White

#23  It happens I know more than most about Azerbaijan, but I'll save an analysis for another day.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-08-13 23:42  

#22  Frank, your gold coin has copper in it! Phil_b, any idiot reasonable person can see the tactical superiority of establishing an Azerbaijan base in response to any future Iranian threat.
Shipman, your light is a shining beacon, through the fog!! I'm so misunderstood, that's why I didn't introduce myself at the Washington meeting!
Posted by: smn   2005-08-13 21:26  

#21  Be nice Frank, SMN is doing it's best. Yes, this is the best.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-08-13 19:44  

#20  by the way...your pedestal is slipping....
Posted by: Frank G   2005-08-13 19:36  

#19  smn, I don't give a rat's arse about your motivations, and I'll wager nobody else does either. Vitriol in the right hands produces good stuff.

Make sense and you'll have no problems with me. I'll even forgive your ignorance which you demonstrated in your comment on Azerbaijan. I get my ignorance on certain topics pointed out to me on a regular basis here. Its part of Ranburg's attraction.

BTW, I'm not an American and references to patriotism in relation to me are off topic.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-08-13 19:27  

#18  phil_b, shipman got it right, I'm trying to play nice. I don't like the veil to drop, and the seminar has worked. I try to confine my "rants" to the articles and not direct them to fellow Rantburgers, however when my loyalty to this country is brought to the fore (ie you and 2b and pappy), I will step down from my pedestal and fire from both barrels!
Posted by: smn   2005-08-13 19:09  

#17  Congratulations smn, someone is going to respond to you today. Don't project your motivations onto me. If I have something to say, then I say as clearly as I am able. I may not be as funny as some, or eloquent as others, but what I intend hopefully comes through. I clearly stated that you concern me becuase your posts are noise. That is the entire extent of my concern with you.

BTW, I have a soft spot for Joe ALL CAPS Mendiola. It takes all sorts, as my mother used to say.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-08-13 17:31  

#16  I'm NOT a troll, becasue I don't know any Trolls, and it takes one to know one!
Posted by: smn   2005-08-13 17:23  

#15  Phil_b, I feel the asme way aboput Joe ALL CAPS Mendiola. But I just laugh.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2005-08-13 17:14  

#14  an
Posted by: 2b   2005-08-13 17:10  

#13  gets lost in his convoluted and cryptic (onanastic) verbiage.

a illitetroll
Posted by: 2b   2005-08-13 17:10  

#12  "noise" nails it, phil_b.

Be nice, you're misunderstood. Be nasty, you're misunderstood.
Posted by: .com   2005-08-13 17:07  

#11  phil_b, question for thought...What makes you feel better? Planting your flag on smn's head, or the Iraqi's settling the remaining 15 constitutional issues before the 15th? Even I know that answer!
Posted by: smn   2005-08-13 17:06  

#10  Mrs D, my problem with smn is not his (apparently) contrary opinions. I'm a supporter of diversity of opinion here, not least because I not infrequently post contrary opinions myself. My problem with smn is he is incoherent and as a result just noise - more stuff to skip over to get to something interesting. Note, that nobody engages him on the substance of his posts. IMO becuase whatever point he has to make (assuming he has one) gets lost in his convoluted and cryptic (onanastic) verbiage. I don't know what his problem is and I really don't care. All I ask is he either makes sense or goes. And if that requires he be TROLLed then so be it.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-08-13 16:53  

#9  Phil_b, what is a troll? Could it be someone who doesn't atleast censor their own obsenities? Or could it be one which is so pursuaded as not to understand 'the higher, the lonelier'. For 30+ years, you didn't know who Deep Throat was, but you didn't give him as much pain!
Posted by: smn   2005-08-13 14:08  

#8  Frank, You and Shipman leave me with a warm feeling inside...phil_b, I can't reach...the fog!
Posted by: smn   2005-08-13 13:45  

#7  smn isn't worth troll-banning. The bait is negligible, the arguments tissue-thin, and overall, a weakass effort
Posted by: Frank G   2005-08-13 10:17  

#6  It's been a long hot August already, with more to come, and a tense time with Iran among others.

SMN has been making a habit of moving to provocative language right out of the gate. Not helpful. It's not the disagreement of opinion, it's the intentional use of language designed to hijack the conversation from the start.
Posted by: leader of the pack   2005-08-13 10:03  

#5  SMN has been difficult in the past, but I fail to see what is objectionable in his post. Is the commenter who says something with which you disagree automatically a troll? Are we going to allow no one to clean up their act? Are we going to allow no one to disagree with the party line?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2005-08-13 09:56  

#4  SMN trying to play nice, veil doesn't drop as much as it used to. I figure the seminar helped.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-08-13 07:15  

#3  stupid's my name is either a) a leftist troll, b) brain damaged from too many recreational drugs, c) a congenital fuckwit.

We tolerate a lot of diversity here at RB, but I'm at the point of asking the AoS (and Sea, rkb) to TROLL him.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-08-13 06:57  

#2  Not going to make it! They have nothing to lose in the continuing delays. What will "W" do if they miss the deadline, say: "G*******t, I'm taking my troops out Right Now !" Yeah right.
Posted by: smn   2005-08-13 04:50  

#1  FROI formerly known as SADDAMISANASSHOLE
Posted by: Captain America   2005-08-13 00:47  

00:00