Iraq was once a wealthy country but its population has been run into the ground due to a series of catastrophically bad policy decisions that were fueled by an absence of accountability. By October 2019, Hundreds of thousands of poor and marginalized Iraqis were in the streets taking major risks to life and limb to demand change. Three different high level committees were established to propose amendments to the constitution in ways that addressed the protesters’ demands. One evening in late December 2019, as one of the committees prepared to meet in a conference room in a key government institution’s offices, they found that the committee chairman (a senior government official) was engaged in conversation with a small group of individuals. They were protesters who had been brought in to the government department by a third party to describe how they had been kidnapped and tortured by the security services. One of the three dominated the conversation. He spoke fluidly and without hesitation on why he supported the protests, including rampant poverty and unemployment. He described how he was targeted by masked men who detained and tortured him for weeks while they tried to make him sign a statement confirming that he would not participate in any future protests. He refused to sign and was released after contacts mobilized support within the ministry on his behalf. He seemed strong, fearless, and full of integrity. The committee members listened to his account respectfully until he and his fellow protesters excused themselves and left. The committee commenced its session and discussed a number of issues, including how the judiciary’s performance could be improved. Two hours later, the chairman called a break. The members moved to another room where dinner was waiting. As soon as they started the meal, a committee member who was also a senior government adviser said “you know, despite it all, Iraqis can’t complain. The constitution really does serve them well.”