Iraq's 25-member Governing Council cast aside its deep communal and religious differences and signed Monday the country's historic new interim constitution after delays, which courted disaster. The US-picked Governing Council hailed the document as enshrining basic freedoms and the protection of human rights in Iraq after decades living under the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein. Over the course of heated negotiations concerning federalism, women's rights and the role of Islam, the politicians demonstrated Iraq had a long way to go before the nation overcomes the deep divisions among its citizens that gave rise to strongmen like Saddam.

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