Kurds in the Punch Bowl

The UN has given its blessing to the U.S.-British plan for Iraq sovereignty. That's a good thing, but it has also riled Iraqi Kurds who are understandably sweating out what unconstrained majoritarianism might mean for them. The AP reports:

Kurdish fears of Shiite domination rose after the Americans and British turned down their request to have a reference to the interim constitution ? which enshrines Kurdish federalism ? included in the U.N. resolution approved Tuesday.

The country's most prominent Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, warned he would not accept mention of the interim charter in the resolution. Shiites oppose parts of the charter that give Kurds a veto over a permanent constitution due to be drawn up next year.

The UN's Kofi Annan has sought to soothe Kurds by noting that the resolution "does have language that refers to a united federal democratic Iraq."

We'll see if that's enough. Despite comprising around 60 percent of Iraq's population, Shiites were oppressed under Saddam Hussein's Sunni regime. Kurds account for about 15 percent of Iraq's citizens.