Forward from here

IRAQ’S APPARENT RATIFICATION on Saturday of a new constitution is an important step forward in the political process and could help speed the return of at least some of the 152,000 U.S. troops serving there. A “yes” vote on the document would not mean a quick end to the violence that has devastated the nation, but it would

set the stage for December elections for a permanent national assembly and government.

As expected, voters in two provinces overwhelmingly populated by Sunni Arabs -- Al Anbar and Salahuddin -- seem to have rejected the constitution. But a two-thirds negative vote was required in any three of the country’s 18 provinces to overturn the draft, and early returns made that look unlikely. Rejection of the document would dissolve the interim assembly and force the writing of a new constitution. That would drastically impede the political process.

The constitution is far from perfect, especially because it slights Sunnis, who account for about 20% of the population and wielded great power under Saddam Hussein’s rule. Heavy U.S. pressure led Shiite and Kurdish leaders last week to agree that after the December balloting, a new panel will meet to consider amendments.

One area that should be revisited is the division of revenues from future oil discoveries. The constitution calls for the central government to determine how money from existing fields is distributed, but it gives greater allocations to areas where future reserves will be extracted. That benefits the Kurdish north and Shiite south inordinately.

Also needing a major overhaul are provisions on women’s rights. The 1970 constitution declared all Iraqi citizens equal. Secular courts, not religious tribunals, enforced the law. Unfortunately, the constitution drawn up this year takes away some rights for women who divorce or fight for custody of their children. That’s a reflection of the constitutional declaration that Islamic law, or Sharia, is a main source of legislation. The wording is better than an original proposal to declare Sharia the main source, but it still creates problems.

Few voters received copies of the constitution; fewer still read it. Voters often based their decisions on sermons in mosques, another reflection of the country’s transformation from a secular regime under Hussein into one where clerics have great influence.

The political progress represented by the constitution is welcome, but it needs to be accompanied by military progress -- the training of Iraqi soldiers in sufficient numbers to let at least some Americans come home. Nearly 2,000 U.S. troops have been killed since the invasion in March 2003, and the extended deployment of regular, Reserve and National Guard forces has imposed a great strain on the Army. U.S. officials should keep urging Iraqis to modify the constitution to meet Sunnis’ reasonable demands, so the country does not split. The United States also needs to step up the training of Iraqi security forces so they can take the lead in protecting the new government that their fellow citizens will install.