Getting It Done Is Getting It Right
I never thought I would take this position, particularly given what could be at stake for the women of Iraq, but I’m going to come down on the getting it done side. Let’s just remember, the compromises that our founding fathers made to get to a constitution – mediating between slave states and free states – included one that left slavery intact and defined each slave as worth only 3/5 of a person. Fred Kaplan has pointed to the many differences between the 18th century U.S. process and the 21st century Iraqi process, but a stark similarity remains: by agreeing on a set of principles as the ground rules for a national political process you give everyone involved a stake in trying to advance their interests through that process rather than through violence or secession. That is precisely what ordinary Iraqis, of any religion or tribe, have not had. And the sudden claim of the insurgents that the "jihad of word" is akin to "jihad by sword" and thus that their supporters should vote in the October referendum means that they are beginning to recognize that there is another field to play on that they cannot afford ignore.
I don’t want to be pollyannish here; there is plenty to be deeply worried about in Iraq, as Juliette points out. But let’s just remember how often we have had to amend our Constitution to provide for freedoms that Americans typically assume are our birthright – including the actual Bill of Rights. If well organized enough, it is quite possible that Iraqi women can secure the same rights in a Muslim state recognizing Islam as a source of legislation that it took American women over a century to achieve – and remember, American feminists were unsuccessful in securing an Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and 1980s – an effort opposed by none other than Bush’s current Supreme Court nominee. The Iraqi provinces and the central government can start the tug of war of federalism – through legislation and litigation – that our states and federal government engage in continually. The point is to create a framework for politics actually to work, for democracy actually to deliver what the people need. If this constitution can do that, in a way that actually changes conditions for Iraqis on the ground, then there will be time to amend its principles.
