Five Days From the Vote

and the violence continues unabated.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Two car bombs killed dozens of Iraqis on Tuesday, four days before a referendum on the country's constitution.

A suicide car bomb exploded in a busy Tal Afar marketplace, killing 30 people and wounding another 45, the deputy governor of Nineveh province told CNN.

But that was to be expected. What is unexpected is that with only five days to go till the vote on the constitution the US is leading the effort to change the document so it will get wider acceptance, and more amazing, most of those who are to vote on this unfinished charter have not had the chance to read the versions of it that do exist. You would hope that by this point in time a viable final document would exist, and the people who are suppose to vote on it would have a copy to read. It appears this basic step was beyond the reach of those in Iraq.

As outraged would-be voters protested at still not being shown copies of Iraq's proposed constitution, U.S. and Arab diplomats bore down on Sunnis, Shiites and Kurdish leaders Monday in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone to make last-ditch changes to the charter that would overcome Sunni opposition.

The truth is, despite our efforts, the outlook for a positive resolution is very dim.

Excitement over the charter seems low, and officials' ongoing deal-making -- long after the Aug. 15 deadline for a draft and weeks after the transitional parliament approved a supposedly final version for a national vote -- has fostered a perception among many that the constitution will mean whatever politicians want it to mean.

Despite the complications of continued negotiations, Americans are pushing for compromises that could win Sunni support for the charter, in hopes of ending the insurgency through political means.

If this charter is not embraced by all of Iraq it assures that the violence will continue and a failed state will result.