Arraf: Constitution was so close
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A highly anticipated signing ceremony for Iraq's interim constitution was halted Friday after Shiite members of the Iraqi Governing Council pulled out over concerns voiced by the top Shiite cleric in Iraq.
A wave of violence shook Iraq's Shiite community earlier in the week, when simultaneous explosions near Shiite shrines in Karbala and Baghdad killed dozens on Tuesday, the Muslim sect's Ashura holiday.
CNN's Jane Arraf is in Baghdad and describes the mood in Iraq with CNN correspondents Kathleen Hays, Deborah Feyerick, Kelly Wallace and Dana Bash.
HAYS: Jane, who are the Iraqis angry at now? Are they angry at suspected al Qaeda terrorists? Are they angry at the U.S. for not protecting them? Are they angry at each other?
ARRAF: I guess the short answer is that they're angry at pretty well everybody. But I guess last on that list is probably a good thing, each other. The worst possible scenario would be if we had these horrendous attacks -- absolutely horrifying -- in the Shia holy places and they had been blaming other Iraqis, Sunnis for instance.
Instead, they're blaming the United States, they're blaming Israel of course, and they're blaming foreigners, al Qaeda, whoever it might be, but they haven't so far started blaming other Iraqis.
FEYERICK: With religion such a powerful force in the region, what is the general mood amongst the people about the Governing Council, what they can achieve, whether they can bring the country together, whether in fact it is a governing body that the people themselves can believe in?
ARRAF: It isn't quite yet. Now, we have to remember that it is U.S.-appointed, and for what it is, it is remarkable. I mean, we've got 25 people who are doing the same kind of things that you all have been covering to some extent: hammering out deals in back rooms, disagreeing with each other without killing each other, which is really new for this country.
But there isn't really that process that's filtered down to the public. For instance, we had this constitution, it was supposed to be signed, it wasn't. Nobody in the streets knows what this constitution is. Journalists couldn't even get a copy. There's still a lot of things that have not been explained to people, and until they are, there isn't going to be a lot of support for these people.
WALLACE: Didn't the American forces kind of pull back a little bit and allow Iraqis to have security on Tuesday, a holy day, in honor of the holy day in Baghdad and Karbala? And are they going to make changes in light of what happened on that day?
ARRAF: Well, they were on high alert as were the Iraqi security forces. And it was really an impossible situation. You have to imagine this incredible ceremony. This was a commemoration they have not been able to do publicly for more than 30 years under Saddam.
And this is sort of the definitive illustration of Shia power -- waves and waves of people whipping themselves with steel chains, cutting themselves with knives. And in that situation, you can't really set up a search.
It really wasn't a town hall meeting kind of situation. They knew there might be violence. They tried to minimize it. But they couldn't do everything that they could have to prevent suicide bombers without actually stopping the ceremonies. That's what Saddam did.
BASH: Jane, I want to ask about the delay in the (signing) of this constitution. You did a fabulous piece yesterday where you showed that there was actually a band, an orchestra playing. This was such a big, momentous ceremony, and then everything got stalled. Tell us what it was like to be there, covering that event.
ARRAF: First of all the location was a bit surreal, because it was held in the convention center, which was built for the Nonaligned Summit. I have spent hours and hours, perhaps days with other members of our team under Saddam in that very hall, staking out people like Tariq Aziz and covering Arab unity conferences that ended in fist fights. So this was the location of this momentous ceremony.
It was supposed to start at 4 p.m. At 4:15, people started thinking, "Oh, this is just Iraq time." By 4:30, they started to wonder. As it kept getting later and later and they kept bringing out the children and the band to amuse people, it became clear this wasn't about to happen anytime soon.
But everyone tried to put a good face on it. The Governing Council members themselves were nowhere to be seen. The U.S. officials kept going around, reminding everyone that this was a great illustration of democracy and this was the way it should be and this was a necessary step. And maybe it is.
HAYS: Well, of course Jane, the Bush administration would like to see this signed because they want to make it clear things are on track in Iraq and we can bring troops home sooner rather than later. Many experts have said it's really tough to forge a country where there are basically three separate groups: the Kurds, the Sunni Muslims in the center and the Shiites who are the majority in the south. To what extent is the constitution having trouble because it is difficult to hammer out this constitution in a way that makes all three groups feel they're really protected from one another?
ARRAF: I think what this delay in signing the constitution illustrated is that no matter how carefully you draft something -- and according to U.S. officials, this was a beautiful document, a document that would be the envy of any country anwhere, in terms of setting up civil liberties, democratic institutions.
After this horrendous bombing in the Shia holy places, a couple of days later, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani essentially made it clear that he was not happy with this and the Shia members of the council paid attention. Shias form 60 percent of the population here. And the Ayatollah Sistani is this huge, unseen force that looms over almost everything.
What it illustrated is you can say you're going to have democracy, but at the end of the day there are other forces at work that are perhaps equally important.
