Bush, Rice Praise Iraqi Leaders

Despite Unresolved Constitution Issues, President Hails Efforts

(CBS/AP)  Despite the self-imposed one-week delay Iraqi leaders agreed upon to finish drafting the constitutional charter, President Bush is praising the Iraqi negotiators. In a statement issued by the White House, the president applauds the Iraqis' "heroic efforts" and "substantial progress."

Previously, Mr. Bush had been insistent that the Aug. 15 deadline be met in order to maintain political momentum and blunt Iraq's deadly insurgency.

The president, who's vacationing in Texas, also hails the Iraqis' decision to keep working toward compromises on difficult issues.

Says Mr. Bush: "Their efforts are a tribute to democracy and an example that difficult problems can be solved peacefully through debate, negotiation, and compromise."

CBS News Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi reports that Iraqi leaders say two big issues remain under negotiations. One is women's rights and specifically, how much Islamic law should determine what those rights are.

Although he says his view might not be universal, Director of the Middle East studies program at Johns Hopkins University and CBS News Consultant Fouad Ajami told The Early Show's Harry Smith that it seems Islamic law will not come to rule over women's' rights there.

"Even [Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani] does not want a quote-unquote Islamic State," Ajami said. "He wants a state that respects the place of Islam in public life."

The other issue, Alfonsi reports, is Kurdish autonomy; the Kurds have enjoyed rule since the last Gulf War, and they want to continue to have the right to succeed.

If the Iraqis fail to meet the latest deadline, parliament will have to be dissolved and new elections called.

In other developments:

In a brief appearance before reporters Monday at the State Department, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Iraqis "needed a little more time" to work out compromises. Said Rice: "I believe they are going to finish this."

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq said Tuesday that a handful of issues remain unresolved in Iraq's draft constitution, including the distribution of national revenue but predicted that the charter would completed in the coming days. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said he was "disappointed" that an extension was needed, but said differences on the distribution of oil revenues and the amount of power to grant to local governments were being addressed. "I have confidence in the Iraqi leaders to produce a good draft constitution in the coming days," said Khalilzad, who had given repeated assurances that the Iraqis would meet the Aug. 15 deadline.

Iraqi troops clashed with guards of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's Iraqi National Accord, leaving several guards injured, a statement by the group said Tuesday. However, an official at Allawi's office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident occurred Aug. 7 between soldiers and guards near the Iraqi National Accord's main office in western Baghdad. He said one guard was seriously wounded and is still in hospital. It was not clear why the group waited more than a week to release the statement.

Iraqi commandos were led to a grave Monday containing 30 bodies in the Owerij industrial district in southern Baghdad after interrogating insurgents detained in a raid earlier in the day, Col. Selam al-Maamuri of the Interior Ministry said.

Violence also continued during Monday's negotiations. One Iraqi soldier was killed and another injured in an insurgent ambush in west Baghdad, police Capt. Talib Thamir said.

In Khalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad, gunmen killed three people in separate shootings, including a municipal council member and his driver, police said. Four others were wounded.

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© MMV CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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