Iraq takes another step toward self-government

Bringing democracy to Iraq was not America's responsibility -- if it were, U.S. troops would be fighting in a couple of dozen countries on several continents.
But the post-invasion reality is that United States must help the Iraqis establish a democratic government because that is the quickest route out of Iraq for U.S. troops.
For that reason, Saturday's constitutional referendum in Iraq was an encouraging event. While there are still ballots to be counted, and some possible irregularities to be addressed, it appears that Iraq now has a constitution -- though not a consensus.
The early returns show that Sunni opponents of the constitution did not carry the three provinces necessary to kill it, but strong votes against the constitution in two of the provinces show deep disapproval by a minority that represents 20 percent of the country's population. If that third province had disapproved, the constitution would have been rejected, and that would have been a major setback.
The Bush administration has reason to celebrate, since the very act of voting by Sunnis demonstrated some progress in bringing them aboard. The administration's hope, as expressed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, is that as Iraqis increasingly participate in the political process, support for the insurgency will be undermined.
What's next
The timetable now calls for the Iraqis to form political parties and draw up candidate slates for elections Dec. 15 to select a permanent national government to take office Dec. 31. This is the last stop in the U.S.-brokered political timetable for Iraq. The Bush administration had hoped that would mark the point where the United States could start withdrawing, but it's an open question if this new government will be able to defend itself.
The Sunnis boycotted elections last January and as a result got only a handful of seats in the interim parliament. They seem determined not to repeat that mistake and because of proportional representation they are guaranteed a significantly greater number of seats. A last-minute compromise on the constitution gives the new parliament the power to amend the document so the Sunnis have at least a shot at removing provisions they find unacceptable.
The high turnout in the face of death threats from insurgents shows there is a large, dedicated -- and brave -- constituency among Iraqis for having democratic control over their country.
More and more, Iraqis will have to take responsibility for their country. The United States will have to start taking less of that responsibility, bringing its forces home from a war that few Americans would have supported had they not been told that Iraq and the weapons it was supposed to have had represented a direct threat to our national security.