U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, left, meets with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at the Presidential office in Baghdad, Iraq. The Iraqi president met with leading Iraqi officials and foreign diplomats on Sunday to discuss the latest political developments relating to the drafting of a new national constitution.
Baghdad, Iraq — Shiite Arab, Kurdish and Sunni framers of Iraq's new constitution struggled Sunday over whether to ask for more time for their work, facing a deadline in 15 days and with many fundamental questions still unresolved.
Delegates must announce by today whether they want an extension of up to a half-year. Washington has lobbied hard against any delay, which it says would set back plans for a significant U.S. troop withdrawal by spring and shift more momentum in Iraq to insurgents. Violence across Iraq on Sunday killed at least 25 people - including five Marines killed by bombs.
Delegates to the constitutional committee said Sunday they had begun talk of a 30-day extension, despite adamant statements from Western and Iraqi officials just the day before that the draft would be completed by the Aug. 15 deadline.
The delay proposal appeared to catch at least some U.S. officials by surprise. President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, went into a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and issued a statement after demanding ''maximum efforts be exerted" to finish the work on time.
The delegates have to decide on several complex issues including a Kurdish-led push for a federal system, the extent of religious influence, Kurdish territorial demands, and a new electoral system. The name of the country itself remains unsettled after a summer of debate, with Shiites seeking a variation that includes ''Islamic Republic."
Iraqis are scheduled to vote on the draft constitution in October and on a new government in December. Adil Lami, head of the electoral commission, announced Sunday that voting would be limited to Iraqis living inside Iraq.
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