Most Americans Don't Feel Safer

According to a new USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll, 57% of Americans now think that the war against Iraq has made terrorist attacks within the United States more likely. Only 34% now believe the war has made Americans safer. The poll results also revealed this startling statistic: One-third of Americans think that all U.S. troops should be withdrawn from Iraq.

But these latest numbers have done nothing to slow down the delusional thinking in Republican circles.

Republican pollster Whitfield Ayres says public attitudes toward the war rise and fall depending on the day's headlines.

"If a constitution is adopted and a democratic government is installed, these numbers will go up again," Ayres says.

IF the drafting committee can resolve serious disagreements about the role of Islamic law, federalism, oil revenue sharing, and political autonomy for the Shiites as well as the Kurds, and IF they can do all this by the August 15 deadline, and IF the insurgents respect the constitution. That's a lot of IFs. Especially given the appalling level of violence in Iraq, which shows no signs of going down.

When sources as far apart ideologically as Juan Cole and Radio Free Europe are both saying the efforts to draft a new constitution are in trouble, you know there's a serious problem.

But Juan Cole has a possible solution: Give the Iraqis our Constitution.