Iraq's Sunnis Ask U.S. For Help
A day before the deadline for the new constitution, Sunni Arabs appealed Sunday to the United States to prevent Shiites and Kurds from pushing a draft through parliament without their consent, warning it would only worsen the crisis in Iraq.
Leaders of the Sunni Arab, Shiite and Kurdish factions planned make-or-break talks for 11 a.m. Monday, according to officials of all three groups. "I am not optimistic," Sunni Arab negotiator Kamal Hamdoun said. "We either reach unanimity or not."
Iraqi officials insisted they would meet the new Monday deadline and present a final document to the National Assembly, dominated by Shiites and Kurds. But the chief government spokesman suggested another delay may be necessary.
The deadline for a new constitution already was extended by a week last Monday after negotiators failed to agree on a number of contentious issues, including federalism, distribution of Iraq's oil wealth, power relationships among the provinces and the role of the Shiite clerical hierarchy in Najaf.
Since then, Shiite and Kurdish negotiators have reportedly agreed on a number of issues. Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, said 97 percent of the draft had been finished and predicted the document would be forwarded to parliament on time Monday.
CBS News Correspondent Lara Logan reports that Sunnis and Shiites found rare common ground in rejecting proposals that would split Iraq into federal states, depriving the central government of control over the nation's oil.
Government spokesman Laith Kubba expressed hope that political leaders would complete the draft by the deadline. If not, Kubba said there were two options: amend the interim constitution again and extend the deadline or dissolve parliament.
But the Sunni Arabs complained that they have been sidelined in the talks and have only been invited to one session with the other groups since the extension was granted.
In other recent developments:
Meanwhile, as of late Sunday, Sunni Arab negotiators said they were sticking by their opposition to federalism and their other demands.
"At a time when there are few hours left to announce the draft, we still see no active coordination and seriousness to draft the constitution," the Sunni Arab negotiators said in a statement.
They urged the United States, the United Nations and the international community to intervene to prevent a draft from moving forward without unanimous agreement among all three factions — a move which "would make the current crisis more complicated."
Shiites and Kurds have enough seats in parliament to win approval for a draft even without the Sunnis. Sunni Arabs form an estimated 20 percent of the national population but hold only 17 of the 275 seats in the National Assembly because so many of them boycotted the Jan. 30 elections.
However, the Sunni Arabs could scuttle the constitution when voters decide whether to ratify it in the Oct. 15 referendum. Under current rules, the constitution would be defeated if it is opposed by two-thirds of the voters in three of Iraq's 18 provinces. Sunni Arabs form the majority in at least four.
A Sunni Arab backlash could complicate the U.S. strategy of using the political process to lure Sunnis away from the Sunni-dominated insurgency. Washington hopes that a constitution, followed by general elections in December, will help take the steam out of the insurgency and enable the United States and its international partners to begin removing troops next year.
Sunni clerics, who spearheaded the Jan. 30 election boycott, have been urging their followers to register and vote in the Oct. 15 referendum — but against the constitution if it does not satisfy Sunni aspirations.
Some radical groups within the insurgency, notably al Qaeda's wing led by Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, oppose any constitution as an affront to Islam and have vowed to kill anyone who votes in the referendum.
Also Sunday, the Iraqi government criticized its neighbor Jordan for allegedly allowing Saddam Hussein's family to fund a network seeking to destabilize Iraq and re-establish the banned Baath Party.
"It is regrettable to say that until now there are big numbers of elements, not only former regime elements, but supervisors of some terrorist groups who are in Jordan," Kubba, the government spokesman, told reporters in Baghdad.
Kubba cited Saddam's relatives who live in Jordan, where they have "huge amounts of money" to "support ... efforts to revive Baath Party organizations." Kubba did not specify individual family members, but Saddam's two oldest daughters live in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Although the Iraqis have frequently complained of subversive activity generated from Syria, Kubba's remarks were the strongest yet directed against pro-Western Jordan. Tens of thousands of Iraqis — including Saddam's two daughters — have moved to Amman to escape the violence in Iraq.
During an interview later Sunday on CNN's "Late Edition," Kubba said Iraq wanted good relations with Jordan.
"However, having said that, we are aware there are terrorists using Jordan or coming from Jordan ... but more importantly, many ex-regime elements of Saddam's regime are in Jordan," he said. "And they have launched a campaign, they are calling back members of the Baath Party to organize meetings and to develop a strategy, and influencing events in Iraq."
It appeared Kubba's statements were aimed in part at deflecting criticism from Jordan about the possible involvement of Iraqis in subversive operations in Jordan.
Jordanian police have detained an undetermined number of Iraqis as well as other foreign Arab suspects in the Friday rocket attack that barely missed a U.S. warship docked in Aqaba.
"We don't want Jordan to harm a quarter of a million Iraqis (living in Jordan) because of one Iraqi" involved in Friday's attack, which killed a Jordanian soldier, Kubba said.
There was no immediate comment from the Jordanian government, which has been seeking to improve relations with its eastern neighbor — once its closest trading partner and only supplier of oil.