Robert Malley
Robert Malley
Robert Malleyis an American lawyer, political scientist and specialist in conflict resolution. He is currently a senior director at the National Security Council. Prior to holding that title, he was Program Director for Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group and Assistant to National Security Advisor Sandy Bergerand the Director for Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the National Security Council. Malley is considered an expert on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and has written extensively on this...
advanced approved attempt both constitution content danger deepening divide divisions ethnic likely main overcome process rather side step three within
The main danger is that the constitution ratifies and exacerbates the sectarian divisions within the country. Both the process through which it was done and the content are deepening the divide between Kurds and Shiites on one side and the Sunnis on the other. If the constitution is only approved by only two of the three communities, it will only be a confirmation of Iraq's sectarian and ethnic divisions rather than an attempt to overcome them. This has not advanced the process of reconciliation; it . . . more likely is a step backward.
forces shackled
The U.S. is shackled by the very forces that it liberated.
based broad compact compromise consent depressing healing instead process proving step
A compact based on compromise and broad consent could have been a first step in a healing process. Instead it is proving yet another step in a process of depressing decline.
constitution fuel likely rather
The constitution is likely to fuel rather than dampen insurgency,
burden compact far fast forge genuine help main national others pressure promote time
There's still time to forge a genuine national compact and promote a national identity, but institutional restraints that so far have prevented a break-up are fast eroding. The main burden is on Iraq's leaders, but they need all the help and pressure the US and others can muster.