Rich, I agree we’re getting nowhere. I also agree that much of my trepidation may be based on the version of the draft constitution reported in the mainstream media, which your last post indicates is way overblown in its description of how firmly Islam is installed as the law of Iraq. There is a world of difference between “a” and “the,” and a bill of rights that actually guarantees equality and civil rights would assuage many concerns.
I’ve done the best I can to argue the correlation between officially Islamic governments and the growth of Islamic militancy. Hopefully my alarmism will be proved misplaced because the establishment of Islam here ends up being much more equivocal than what first appeared.
Anyway, enough. Thanks for the exchange. I hope you’re right and I’m wrong – and there’s always a very good chance that will be the case.