Lawless Iraq

The rule of law has, for all intents and purposes, been suspended in Iraq. Professor Juan Cole describes yesterday's announced three-day delay for approving a draft constitution as akin to a coup.

The new constitution, with blank passages, was presented to parliament just before midnight on August 22. But parliament did not vote on it, and a "three-day delay" was announced.

Announced?

The rule of law is no longer operating in Iraq, and no pretence of constitutional procedure is being striven for. In essence, the prime minister and president have made a sort of coup, simply disregarding the interim constitution. Given the acquiescence of parliament and the absence of a supreme court (which should have been appointed by now but was not, also unconstitutionally), there is no check or balance that could question the writ of the executive.

Yet, President Bush has nothing but praise for the negotiators' complete failure to properly discharge their duty.

We welcome today's development as another step forward in Iraq's constitutional process. The progress made over the past week has been impressive, with consensus reached on most provisions through debate, dialogue, and compromise. This is the essence of democracy, which is difficult and often slow, but leads to durable agreements, brokered by representatives that reflect the interests and values of free people. The American people commend the spirit of cooperation that has marked these deliberations, and look forward to seeing the constitutional draft finalized on Thursday.

The president leads into this statement with an objectively false statement by claiming that the draft constitution meets the requirements of the Transitional Administrative Law. As professor Cole points out, quite the opposite took place yesterday.