Kaplan on the Iraqi Constitution

Fred Kaplan, writing in Slate, is unimpressed with the Iraqi draft constitution. He writes:

[I]t's hard to see how Iraq's constitution could serve either as a document that unifies the new Iraqi nation or as a clear guide to governance.

The charter is vague to the point of vacuousness in its most basic proclamations....

After listing the numerous ambiguities and contradictions in the document he concludes:

[I]t is not at all clear—with or without this constitution—what kind of government, what kind of nation, this war and this process have wrought.

Exactly! The debate on the Iraqi constitution is just beginning, just as ours was in 1787. It is the national debate and legislative action, not the product of a committee's deliberation that will give form and meaning to the Iraqi constitution. A little patience is in order.

Read the article here.