Happy talk from Iraqi Shiites is in the news. The “constitution”, they say, will be signed on Monday. Some are saying they’ve struck a deal, but no one is saying who they’ve struck the deal with, exactly. Others say they’re just signing the thing, the heck with Al Sistani. Apparently all the non-signers have met with Sistani and laid out their positions.<\/p>\n
From AFP:<\/a><\/p>\n “You will hear very good news, very soon, the signing will take place Monday,” Governing Council member Muwaffaq al-Rubaie <\/b>told reporters two days after his religious bloc withdrew their endorsement and pulled out of a signing ceremony. <\/p>\n Rubaie and Ahmad Chalabi<\/b>, along with Abdel Adel Mahdi<\/b>, a representative of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), visited Sistani for 25 minutes as informal talks proceeded on how to break the deadlock on the country’s transitional law. <\/p>\n “We think Sistani does not want to provoke a crisis in the country but, to the contrary, wishes to facilitate our work to make the political process succeed and without any interruption,” Rubaie said. <\/p>\n Both Chalabi and Rubaie later headed to Baghdad. <\/p>\n The Governing Council’s current president also voiced optimism that the body would meet Monday’s crucial deadline. <\/p>\n “We are headed toward an agreement on the unresolved issues. The signing of the provisional constitution must happen today at 2:00 pm (1100 GMT),” Mohammed Barhul al-Uloom<\/b> told reporters. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n