ANAS SHALLAL
Shallal is an independent Iraqi-American business owner in Washington, D.C. He said today: “As I talk to more and more Iraqis, it’s clear that most do not think this constitution is a good idea. Even many Iraqis who were among the main boosters for the war are speaking out against this constitution, like Kanan Makiya [author of Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq] and the former acting U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Rend Rahim. Iraqis are again left in a no-win situation. Hidden beneath the baroque language about the glories of Iraq is a document that will make Iraq ungovernable at best and will initiate the de facto partition of Iraq. Long-term this would keep Iraq weak and is part of the U.S. government’s divide-and-conquer strategy. The carnage and the suffering of U.S. soldiers and Iraqis is merely collateral damage to this administration’s agenda.”
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ANTONIA JUHASZ
Author of the forthcoming book The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time and a visiting scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, Juhasz said today: “The draft Iraqi constitution serves U.S. corporations and the Bush administration by leaving in place both the military and the economic occupations. It also locks in the new Iraqi oil law slated for 2006 implementation.”
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MAXINE NASH
A member of the Christian Peacemaker Team, Nash has been in Iraq for the last two years. She said today: “Iraqis are telling us that they don’t feel represented by the people putting together the constitution; it’s difficult to even get a copy of the constitution you know is accurate. Many feel large issues have not been worked out and that the U.S. is pressuring them to move too rapidly now.”
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RAED JARRAR
Jarrar is an Iraqi blogger currently in Jordan.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167