Interim Constitution Eludes Iraqi Council

Summary

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BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The Iraqi Governing Council, deeply divided over the role of religion and other core issues in a future government, worked late into the night Saturday but failed to meet its deadline to approve an interim constitution. Some council members voiced strong optimism that differences could be overcome, but others said the group remains deeply split on key issues. "We started to learn a new trade, and it's called compromise," said Mouwafak Rabii, an independent Shiite Muslim member of the council.

The divisions within the U.S.-appointed council underscore the complexities of establishing a constitution that will satisfy Iraq's religious and ethnic groups sufficiently to deter widespread violence, observers said. Unless minorities are convinced that the new constitution protects them, civil war remains a possibility.

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Interim Constitution Eludes Iraqi Council

Many council members said they expect those differences to become more pronounced as decisions take on greater permanence. Under a Nov. 15 agreement with the U.S.-led coalition, the council had been required to draft the ...

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