You'll Read It Hear First

     The Constitutional Process in Iraq.  Apparently, the Constitutional Commission was asking a US staffer(Jonathon Morrow) of the Institute for Peace about the Constitution.  The actual negotiation is going on between the top two Shia (al-Hakim, head of SCIRI/Badr and Jafaari, the PM) and the top two Kurds (Barzani of PUK and Talabani of KDP, the President).

     The nice way to say it, from the US Institute of Peace speaker, was that the top leadership is engaged in the political process.  But it is not great news to note that the Constitutional Commission (which, unlike the dealmakers, contain Sunnis) is not part of the process.

     Me?  I wouldn't look for a commission so small I could control it.  I'd want each major tribe to send a representative, and each Governor, and then have an in house election to cull their numbers (of course, using a ranked ballot voting system, which will prevent all but the smallest minorities from being left out).

     Oh, and the Constitutional Court will, as of the latest draft, will contain Islamic Clerics to determine whether or not they are Islam-consistent.  Kinda like, but not just like, Iran.