Iraq Cleric Drops Opposition to Charter(Grand Ayatollah gives Bush the OK)

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=716&e=2&u=/ap/20040308/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_politics

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq (news - web sites)'s most powerful cleric signaled to Shiite leaders that he won't object to an interim constitution, clearing the way for the charter to be signed Monday without changes.


The agreement, key to U.S. plans to hand power to Iraqis, comes after talks between Iraqi Governing Council members and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, who had reservations about giving Iraq's Kurdish minority too much power.


Shiite politicians, who days earlier had refused to sign the constitution because of al-Sistani's opposition to certain clauses, said after talks with the cleric Sunday that they would sign the document unchanged.


Hours later, at least seven rockets exploded in central Baghdad, five of them hitting the al-Rasheed Hotel which houses members of the U.S.-led coalition. At least one person was injured, the U.S. military said.

more

[daleo]

1. I wonder what the real deal is here

They could just be stringing Bremer along some more, to pull the rug out again tomorrow. Or, there could have been a back channel deal made to give the Shiites a little something extra. Of course, everyone might just be planning to ignore this constitution anyway.

[cspiguy]

2. It;'s only a matter of time... even with democracy the demographics

favor an islamist oil-rich state, with Iran in the driver seat. You can't defeat birth rate as we amigos over here ultimately will understand.