As I gaze into my crystal ball, I see....

Updated Okay, this will be fast, a test of my predictive powers. We'll see how I do.

There will be a draft constitution for Iraq presented by tonight's deadline. It will represent an agreement between Shiites and Kurds with the Sunnis mostly left on the sidelines.

The issues at contention are the same ones that have been argued from the beginning: federalism, the distribution of oil wealth, and the role of Islam. I predict that on the first, a sort of ad hoc federalism will continue under which the Kurds will have a separate status. However, there will be no reference to "self-determination" (which implied the right of the Kurds to secede) and there will be no extension of federalism to Shiite areas.

As for the others, I predict the draft will punt. There will be vague references to no laws being "contrary" to Islam, which will mean as much or as little as the National Assembly chooses to make it in passing any given law. And the issue of sharing the wealth will likewise be tossed to the Assembly with some reference to distribution being "fair" or "based on need" - again phrases which can mean pretty much anything desired.

In short, the three big issues facing the negotiators - federalism, Islam, and oil wealth - will remain unresolved, put off until later. Just like they have been all along.

So much for today's edition of Criswell Predicts.

Footnote: Actually, one more prediction. The future status of Kirkuk, an issue important to the Kurds which was supposed to have been settled as part of the constitution, will also be punted.

Updated at 5:30 local time. Okay, that didn't take long!

In another dramatic last-minute standoff, Iraqi leaders late Monday put off a vote on a draft constitution, adjourning Parliament at a midnight deadline in a bid for more time to try to win over the Sunni Arab minority whose support is key to ending the insurgency.

There was a draft submitted to Parliament but it was withdrawn literally minutes before the deadline. After the decision to defer the matter yet again, Sunni negotiators said they rejected it because

the government and the committee did not abide by an agreement for consensus.

"We reject the draft constitution that was submitted because we did not have an accord on it," said Sunni delegate Nasser al-Janabi.

So there was a draft submitted (I was right) but without Sunni agreement (I was right), which was then withdrawn (which I suspect means the issues weren't punted far enough downfield, so I was wrong). I'll put myself down for a mixed success as a prognosticator. That's okay, I guess: Criswell once predicted that the force of gravity would soon no longer function.

More later, I hope.