Bombs and Ballots
As they vote on a new constitution, Iraqis face the consequences
Sunni negotiators had some 18 points of contention with the constitution; those include whether to allow southern Iraq to become a semi-independent state (which Sunnis oppose) and how to describe the ethnic and religious identity of the country. But broader Sunni disapproval of the constitution stems not from opposition to specific provisions, since few people have even seen the document that has yet to be widely distributed, but rather a desire to issue a protest against a government they feel has ignored them. "The demands of the Kurds and Shiites are so high, and they won't accept changes the Sunnis wanted in the constitution," says Saleem al Jabouri, a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party and member of the constitution drafting committee. "They gave promises to change, but didn't."
Despite the efforts to mobilize opposition to the constitution, the Sunnis' sense of powerlessness has bred a raft of conspiracy theories that the referendum outcome is out of their hands. On September 29, American troops raided Dulaimi's home and arrested four of his bodyguards, saying they were members of the insurgency. "They did that to put blocks in our way, to make us not participate in the political process," says Dulaimi, 73, in a cavernous room in his home, where men wearing the gold trimmed robes of tribal leaders wait to meet with him.
Suspicions buzz around coffee shops, mosques, and homes wherever Sunnis gather, says Niaz Muwafaq, a Sunni from Baghdad's violent Dora neighborhood, where leaflets and graffiti from some insurgent groups vow to kill anyone who votes while other insurgent groups encourage Sunnis to vote "No." "In the places where Sunnis meet, there is a huge campaign for Sunnis to go and say 'No,' " says Muwafaq. "If you go and say 'No,' you have a voice. You can't do it alone, but hand in hand we can do it. We want them to hear our voice."
The Days Of The Bombers
U.S. troop fatalities were down in September, but the number of multiple-victim attacks involving roadside bombs, car bombs, and suicide bombers against civilian and military targets reached a new record.
[Chart labels]
U.S. troop fatalities
0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140
March '03, Jan. '04, Jan. '05, Sept.'05
Multiple-fatality bombings*
0, 5, 10, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40
May '03, Jan. '04, Jan. '05, Sept. '05
*Bombings that killed at least 3 people
Source: Brookings Institution, Iraqi Index
Graphic by USN&WR
With Julian E. Barnes, Ilana Ozernoy and Kevin Whitelaw
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