Is an Iraqi Constitutional Compromise Coming into Focus?

For months now the constitutional process in Iraq has been hung up over two main points -- Kurdish demands for "self-determination" and Shiite demands that the legal system be based on Islamic law.

Last week failure to resolve these points of issue caused an embarrassing delay that threatened to disrupt the entire process of creating a draft constitution. Now, facing a second deadline, major compromises seem to be in the works.

First, the Kurds have become more flexible in their demands.

AP reports:

The leadership of the country's Kurdish minority said it may drop its contentious demand for the right to secede....

Mullah Bakhtiyar, a senior official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the political party of Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, said all parties were showing flexibility in order to finish drafting the constitution.

"As for the self-determination for the Kurds, this issue did not enjoy the support of Sunnis or Shiites, and we almost gave up this demand," Bakhtiyar said.

The Kurds have enjoyed de-facto independence since 1991. If they drop their demand to guarantee the right of self-determination — a code word for eventual secession that goes beyond mere federalism — it would represent a major concession and remove an obstacle to agreement on the charter.

Secondly, the US has significantly modified its demands.

Reuters reports:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. diplomats have conceded ground to Islamists on the role of religion in Iraq, negotiators said on Saturday as they raced to meet a 48-hour deadline to draft a constitution under intense U.S. pressure.

Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish negotiators all said there was accord on a bigger role for Islamic law than Iraq had before.

But a secular Kurdish politician said Kurds opposed making Islam "the," not "a," main source of law -- changing current wording -- and subjecting all legislation to a religious test.

And then there's this.

It was unclear what concessions the Shi'ites may have made, but it seemed possible their demands for Shi'ite autonomy in the oil-rich south, pressed this month by Islamist leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, may be watered down in the face of Sunni opposition.

Sunni Arab negotiator Saleh al-Mutlak also said a deal was struck which would mean parliament could pass no legislation that "contradicted Islamic principles." A constitutional court would rule on any dispute on that, the Shi'ite official said.

"The Americans agreed, but on one condition -- that the principles of democracy should be respected," Mutlak said.

So, it looks like a final compromise might be in the works. The result will be something far short of the western liberal democracy we would hope for, but something more in keeping with the needs of the peoples of Iraq. And that, I would argue, is [to quote a famous criminal] a "good thing."

Stay tuned....