-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: Iraqi "Second Amendment" Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2004 07:23:42 -0800 From: Jimmy Wales <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Jon Roland wrote:
Few nations more clearly show the importance of establishing and maintaining a strong militia system wherein responsibility for defense and law enforcement is retained by the mass of the people,...
Just for reference, Article 27 describes the organization of the Armed Forces. "(B) Armed forces and militias not under the command structure of the Iraqi Transitional Government are prohibited, except as provided by federal law."
It is unclear to me what that means, exactly. Article 52 explicitly embraces federalism "to prevent the concentration of power in the federal goverment that allowed the continuation of decades of tyranny and oppression under the previous regime."
But does Article 27 make this a toothless federalism? It's hard to say because, for example, "The Kurdistand Regional Goverment shall retain regional control over police forces and internal security" (Article 54).
In the U.S., a popular "watered down" interpretation of the 2nd Amendment is that it is a right of the states to arm the people against the Federal government. It seems to me that the Iraqis may not even have that protection.
But, the document is complex, and as well we all know, the actual practice of law "on the ground" may not comport with the most obvious reading of the document anyway.
--Jimbo
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