Editorial: In Iraq/A problematic constitution

"The Iraqi National Assembly has now backed down from an undemocratic rule change it quietly passed Sunday for the constitutional referendum on Oct. 15. But it does not bode at all well for democracy in Iraq that Shiite and Kurdish legislators made the change in the first place and gave it up only when the United States and United Nations applied intense pressure.

The constitution voters will consider in the referendum isn't a terrific piece of democratic work itself, thanks in part to under-representation of Sunnis in the group that drew it up. The Sunnis have only themselves to blame for that; they boycotted the election that created the National Assembly."
Star Tribune