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Despite constitutional delay, Bush and Co still upbeat

The failure of Iraqi leaders to draft a constitution on time doesn't seem to worry US President George W. Bush and other top US officials, who cited progress toward a new government that is crucial to eventually bringing home US troops.

Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said they were optimistic that the Iraqis can work through differences and produce a final charter by the end of the seven-day extension Iraq's parliament granted shortly before Monday's midnight deadline.

Bush, Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for the last few weeks leaned on the Iraqis to ensure the timeframe was met, with Rice and Rumsfeld making trips to Iraq to keep the pressure on.

"You know, we have a lot at stake. I'm not going to be shy about that. We want Iraq to succeed. A lot of American treasure and blood has been spent here," US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said Tuesday in Baghdad.

But he said a constitutional accord was close and there was no choice but to wait.

"Iraq needs a constitution that all sides can agree upon, that all Iraqis support, and that bridges differences for the good of the Iraqi nation," he told reporters.

US military officials have said they hope to begin bringing troops home some time next year, possibly lowering the presence to around 100,000 in the spring. They have also been careful to emphasize that a pullout cannot take place until Iraqi security forces are stronger and a new, permanent government is in place.

Bush and Rumsfeld also see the drafting of a new constitution as an opportunity to deflate the bloody insurgency, which US generals say remains as strong as it was a year ago. The Pentagon reported Tuesday that the American death toll in Iraqi since the March 2003 invasion climbed to 1,855.

Bush, vacationing at his Texas ranch, praised the "heroic efforts of Iraqi negotiators" to settle their disputes as "a tribute to democracy."

Iraqi negotiators, however, have struggled to overcome differences between Iraqi main ethnic groups, Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, mostly over issues of regional autonomy and the role of religion in Iraqi law.

A national referendum on a new constitution is scheduled for October 15, and fresh elections to set up a permanent government are due by the end of the year. But that all hinges on completing the charter.

Rice told reporters that the United States was confident the Iraqis will complete the process and emphasized that there has already been significant progress.

"We are confident that they will complete this process and continue on the path toward elections for a permanent government at the end of the year," Rice said in Washington, just hours after the Iraqis extended the time frame.

"Iraqis from across the political spectrum, Sunni, Shiite, Kurds and others, are making substantial progress on their constitution, including on many of the most difficult issues before them," Rice said. "They have achieved a lot, and they have generated considerable momentum toward the completion of their constitution."

But Bush is facing growing public scepticism at home over the prospects for success in Iraq and whether the decision to invade the country in 2003 was right.

US Senator Joseph Biden, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee who is exploring a 2008 presidential bid, accuses the Bush administration of not levelling with the American public about the difficulties in Iraq, and has called on Bush to fire Rumsfeld.

"They have squandered about every opportunity to get it right," Biden said on Sunday on NBC television. "The bottom line is, they are significantly lowering expectations."
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