Here's a report by Turkish journalist Cengiz Candar on a recent visit to Iraq:
I have been in Iraq (Baghdad) for over a week. This is the fourth time since the war and the third successive time over regular two-month intervals. This last time - intentionally - coincided with the signing ceremony of the Iraqi interim constitution (officially titled as Law of Administration for the Transitional Period), which heralded a new chapter in the troubled history of Iraq and the region.(Hat tip: David Officer.)
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Despite the negative media reports on the security situation in the country, I find Iraq progressing for the good every time I visit. The last occasion was no exception, even though the trauma of the horrendous attacks in Karbala and Baghdad's holy-to-Shiites suburb, Kadhimiya, was still felt... [T]he security situation had been improved as compared to earlier periods....The potential for a fatal destiny for Iraq still remains and will do so for the foreseeable future. However, all these should not preclude the positive achievements of the unprecedented nation-building under the aegis of the CPA and with the active participation of the Iraqis themselves. For instance, electricity and oil production have been restored to pre-war levels... No doubt, the greatest achievement has become the compromise among the disparate Iraqi groups that led to the "interim constitution."
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The prime minister of the Kurdish regional rule in Sulaimaniya, Barham Saleh, quoting New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, said, "We, as Iraqis, are all, reasonably unhappy with this constitution." My response was, "Then, it is balanced and fair, as much possible."