Reply #5: Bloomberg:Iraq Negotiators Near Deal on Constitution, Jaafari Aide Says [View All]

``We have assurances that leaders have agreed on nearly all items,'' Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's spokesman, Laith Kubba, said in a telephone interview today from the capital, Baghdad. ``Substantial progress has been made.''

While Kurdish and Shiite Muslim leaders have agreed on the broad points, the ``difficulty now is for all the other groups, including the Sunnis, to agree on the text too,'' Kubba said.

The constitution is intended to pave the way for general elections by Dec. 31 and be the foundation for a new government that the U.S. is counting on to take a greater role in battling an insurgency and easing pressure on the U.S. military.

Iraq's parliament voted to extend the original Aug. 15 deadline by a week to give negotiators more time to debate issues including the role of Islam, self-determination and control over oil reserves and production
~snip~

more:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a58.pWUdh6Zo

doesn't seem to be much progress :shrug: