Bremer fails to Resolve Deadlock in IGC over Fundamental Law

ash-Sharq al-Awsat reports that Paul Bremer met Tuesday with the nine most powerful members of the Interim Governing Council in an attempt to settle outstanding issues that have delayed passage of the Fundamental Law or interim constitution. A member of the IGC who declined to be named told SA that some powerful members had used new tactics to forestall resolution of some key issues, leaving them as time bombs that would explode in the future. These include the shape of Iraqi federalism, the question of whether there will be a three-man rotating presidency, and the prerogatives of the future governing council. He said that in many instances a provision had been voted on, but that those opposed to it managed to bring it back up and unsettle it later. He expressed skepticism that the most pressing issues would be resolved, saying that the Americans had exerted enormous pressure to have a finished document within a week. He seemed to imply that any such document would dodge all the hard questions, ensuring that they became explosive when the transitional government was forced to take them up later.