Mahmoud Othman
Mahmoud Othman
Mahmoud Ali Othmanwas a member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council created following the United States's 2003 invasion of Iraq. A Kurd and Sunni Muslim, Othman was a member of the Political Bureau Kurdistan Democratic Party. He then founded the Kurdish Socialist Party. He was also the Chief Negotiator in the 1970 agreement with the Baath Party. He is now a leading member of the Iraqi National Assembly...
changes hard intense talks trying
There are intense talks going on. They are trying very hard to see if they can make last-minute changes for the Sunni Arabs.
constitution seems
Really, we are disappointed with that. It seems like the Americans want to have a constitution at any cost,
double
I think it's a double standard, and it's unfair.
favor
When it's in your favor, you say 'voters.' When it's not in your favor you say 'eligible voters.'
almost august compromise constitution detailed full gave interested iraqi iraqis officials opinions people political promised version
The Americans say they don't intervene, but they have intervened deep. They gave us a detailed proposal, almost a full version of a constitution. They try to compromise the different opinions of all the political blocs. The U.S. officials are more interested in the Iraqi constitution than the Iraqis themselves, because they promised their people that it will be done August 15.
side somewhere
We should not be with one side or the other, but somewhere in the middle.
act afford country decision fragile grasp lead progress quickly running seem situation wisely worse
We are quickly running out of time. We are making very little progress in our negotiations. The situation is fragile and not one where we can afford to be divided. What the politicians don't seem to grasp is that if we don't act wisely and quickly, our decision could lead the country into even worse chaos.
explained progress stance sticking
There is no progress. We are sticking to our stance and they explained their stance.
anybody touch
I don't think anybody is in a hurry. They are completely out of touch with the voters.
choosing expect prime
I expect that there still will be difficulties over choosing the prime minister.
blood decision foreign himself iraq last left minister official outside pool prime share situation visit wrong
He doesn't share his decision with others, like his last visit to Turkey, which was wrong because he didn't tell his deputy, the president, the minister of foreign affairs. It was a decision he made by himself without going back to the government. Iraq is in a pool of blood and the prime minister left to visit Turkey, while in such a situation there shouldn't be any official outside the country.
promises
When he promises something, he'll get it done. If he can't do it, he won't promise it.
draft question satisfy
but the question is, would this draft satisfy the Sunni Arabs' demands.
possible seen
If we'd had more time, it would have been possible to get Sunni participation. When Oct. 15 comes, many won't even have seen the constitution.