Chris Bray: So I'm Reading the Iraqi Constitution...
...and I arrive at the Article 20, Section 1:"No Iraqi shall be surrendered to foreign entities and authorities."
I searched news stories, and it looks like no one is reporting on the implications of this clause. But it looks to me like Iraq is about to ratify a constitution that forbids Iraqi authorities to hand suspected insurgents to the US military -- which seems to me to be a pretty significant development, yeah?
How do other people read this one? What do you think it adds up to?
ADDED LATER:
See also Article 30, in which we learn that the state"guarantee[s] to the individual and family -- especially women and children -- social and health security and the basic requirements for leading a free and dignified life. The state also ensures the above a suitable income and appropriate housing." Read the rest of Article 30, too.
Then read Article 31:"Every citizen has the right to health care. The state takes care of public health and provide[s] the means of prevention and treatment by building different types of hospitals and medical institutions."
Looking forward to the RNC press release trumpeting the enshrinement, by American armed force, of a state-run economy with income guarantees and single-payer health care.
Straight through the looking glass, here.
ADDED STILL LATER:
Don't miss Articles 112, 113, and 117, which establish"the region of Kurdistan," and a general framework of Iraqi regionalism, under rules that (at least on my first reading) would make John Calhoun smile:"In case of a contradiction between regional and national legislation in respect to a matter outside the exclusive powers of of the federal government, the regional authority shall have the right to amend the application of the national legislation within that region."
Farther down in Article 117, we learn that each region gets its own distinct"police, security forces, and guards of the region."
Did we just help to create a Kurdish army on Turkey's southern border?
Read entire article at Histori-blogography
I searched news stories, and it looks like no one is reporting on the implications of this clause. But it looks to me like Iraq is about to ratify a constitution that forbids Iraqi authorities to hand suspected insurgents to the US military -- which seems to me to be a pretty significant development, yeah?
How do other people read this one? What do you think it adds up to?
ADDED LATER:
See also Article 30, in which we learn that the state"guarantee[s] to the individual and family -- especially women and children -- social and health security and the basic requirements for leading a free and dignified life. The state also ensures the above a suitable income and appropriate housing." Read the rest of Article 30, too.
Then read Article 31:"Every citizen has the right to health care. The state takes care of public health and provide[s] the means of prevention and treatment by building different types of hospitals and medical institutions."
Looking forward to the RNC press release trumpeting the enshrinement, by American armed force, of a state-run economy with income guarantees and single-payer health care.
Straight through the looking glass, here.
ADDED STILL LATER:
Don't miss Articles 112, 113, and 117, which establish"the region of Kurdistan," and a general framework of Iraqi regionalism, under rules that (at least on my first reading) would make John Calhoun smile:"In case of a contradiction between regional and national legislation in respect to a matter outside the exclusive powers of of the federal government, the regional authority shall have the right to amend the application of the national legislation within that region."
Farther down in Article 117, we learn that each region gets its own distinct"police, security forces, and guards of the region."
Did we just help to create a Kurdish army on Turkey's southern border?