Dear Sunnis, now you know what happens when you do not participate in a democracy. I'm sure we'll see you at the polls next time.

Bush: Iraq's Sunnis face choice on constitution


President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that Iraq's Sunnis, who have balked at a draft constitution offered by Shi'ites and Kurds, have to decide what kind of society they want to live in.

Iraq's Shi'ite-led government has ruled out any major change to a draft constitution that parliament looks set to pass this week despite minority Sunni objections that it could ignite civil war.

Sunnis mainly oppose the constitution because they see it as giving too much power to the majority Shi'ites, who are pushing for a large autonomous region in the oil-rich south.

"This talk about Sunnis rising up, I mean the Sunnis have got to make a choice. Do they want to live in a society that's free, or do they want to live in violence?" Bush told reporters at a resort in Idaho.

Take it from us here in the good ol' United States of the Supreme Court, he who has the votes makes the rules.

Bush, traveling from Texas where he is on a month-long vacation, has sought to counter anti-war protesters and sagging public opinion about the war in Iraq. He said the United States needs to complete its mission there to protect American security at home and that a withdrawal would weaken the United States.

He described the Iraq constitution as guaranteeing "minority rights, women rights, freedom to worship."

Kurds, however, have complained that U.S. diplomats, who have insisted that women and minorities should enjoy equal rights, had conceded ground to the Islamists in order to have the draft constitution ready to submit to parliament. (Thanks to Yahoo!News and RotoReuters for the heads up.)