It's not just a river in Egypt

Well, leave it to Dean Esmay to find not one, but two lights at the end of the bleak tunnel of the Iraqi constitution.

I see five lights.

For some people the US can never win. Me? Three years ago I said, repeatedly, that if the best we could ever hope for from the new Iraqi government was a state that looked like modern Pakistan, it would be a huge improvement. I wanted much better, but I'd settle for that. Today I see no reason to change that assessment.

That said: the press has routinely proven itself incapable of reporting with any nuance or sanity on the goings-on in Iraq, so I'm going to keep a "wait and see" on this latest kerfuffle over "the role of Islam" that has so many people in a lather. The pitched battle right now is whether their new Constitution will say that Islam is "a" source of their laws, or "the" source, with stipulation either way that democracy and minority rights will be protected.

I can't get worked up about this. Especially because I see no reason to believe that the Iraqi people will ratify a constitution that a majority of them strongly disagree with.

And besides, my buddies would never let me down.

So I guess we'll see tomorrow. After all, I can certainly understand the slow dawn of terror creeping up in Dean's brain. I mean, after all, it's gotta be something truly mind bending to think that he's been the number one cheerleader for - what? - an Islamic state. Not a state with Muslims in it. But a state which looks an awful, awful lot like - wait for it - Iran!.

It's kind of cute for Dean to draw strength and consolation from his friends, Iraq Iran The Model. And I guess we only have one day to see if Dean's mighty blogs are more powerful than the reality of the Iraqi constitutional committee. But right now, I think Dean's on the losing side of history.

U.S. "concession" on Islam said to turn Iraq talks

Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish negotiators all said there was accord on a bigger role for Islamic law than Iraq had before.

But a secular Kurdish politician said Kurds opposed making Islam not "a" but "the" main source of law -- a reversal of interim legal arrangements -- and subjecting all legislation to a religious test.

"We understand the Americans have sided with the Shi'ites," he said. "It's shocking. It doesn't fit American values. They have spent so much blood and money here, only to back the creation of an Islamist state ... I can't believe that's what the Americans really want or what the American people want."

Of course the American people don't want an Islamist state! I'm sure that Dean will soon be saying that the fascist, totalitarian leftists have "finally" gotten what they want out of Iraq, and that it is - after all - all "our" fault. But the reality of the situation is that there's going to be a huge bout of buyer's remorse upon learning that several hundred billion, 1800+ American lives, 10000+ wounded and lord only knows what opportunity costs have bought us.

And when the American people go looking for someone responsible for this rather insane result, I don't think they're going to be blaming those who thought this was a stupid thing to do in the first place...

But you never know. I'm sure the Keyboard Kommandoes can turn the tide here. I'm sure that all we really need is another blog post or three for FREEDOM.