The most powerful Shi'ite cleric in Iraq has announced he is supporting the proposed Iraqi constitution that is scheduled to be voted upon by the Iraqi people on October 15. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani told two of his top aides to spread the word to his followers to vote 'yes' on the referendum.
While al-Sistani and the majority of Shi'ites support the draft of the constitution, the majority of Sunnis oppose it. The Sunnis claim they were not included in the drafting process. Under deposed dictator Saddam Hussein, the Sunnis held power despite being a minority in the country. Now they constitute the backbone of the Iraqi insurgency which is violently opposing the U.S.-led occupation of the country.
Sunni clerics met in Amman, Jordan, and urged their followers to vote against the draft.
'We urge all the Iraqi people to go to the polls and say no to the constitution,' Sheik Abdul-Latif Himayem, a prominent cleric from the city of Ramadi, told the Associated Press.
Today, President Bush warned Americans to expect the level of violence to rise in Iraq as the October 15 election date nears. He also indicated America would 'stay the course' in Iraq and that he would not be announcing a pullout date for American troops anytime soon. A large anti-war protest is scheduled in Washington DC this Saturday led by Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother who President Bush refused to meet with during his vacation in Crawford, Texas in August.
