Baghdad, Iraq — In a dramatic shift, the U.S. ambassador raised the possibility Tuesday of further changes to Iraq's draft constitution, signaling that the Bush administration has not given up its campaign to push through a charter that will be broadly accepted.
The nation's Sunni Arabs had demanded revisions in the constitution, finalized last weekend by the Shiite-Kurdish majority over Sunni objections. A Shiite leader said only minor editing would be accepted, because the draft was now ready for voters in an Oct. 15 referendum.
But Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters he believed "a final, final draft has not yet been, or the edits have not been, presented yet" - a strong hint to Shiites and Kurds that Washington wants another bid to accommodate the Sunnis.
"That is something that Iraqis will have to talk to each other (about) and decide for themselves," Khalilzad said, speaking alongside a major Sunni Arab community leader who denounced the current draft and accused the Shiite-dominated government's security forces of assassinating Sunnis.
The Bush administration wants a constitution acceptable to all Iraqi factions to help quell the Sunni-dominated insurgency so that U.S. and other foreign troops can begin to go home.
Shiite leaders had no comment on Khalilzad's remarks. As constitution wrangling drew to a close last week, Shiite officials complained privately that the Sunnis were stonewalling and that further negotiations were pointless.
Influential Shiite lawmaker Khaled al-Attiyah, a member of the constitution drafting committee, insisted Tuesday that "no changes are allowed" to the draft "except for minor edits for the language."
Shiites consider some of the Sunni demands, especially on the Baath party and federalism, as matters of principle not subject to compromise.
"From a legal point of view, no change can be made to the draft," Shiite negotiator Hussein Athab said. "If (Khalilzad) means legal change, then this is not allowed. If he means political change, I don't know what he means."
But signs were clear that Washington did not feel constrained by legalities and was ready to pressure the Shiites after more than two years of deferring to the Shiite clergy on key steps in Iraq's transition - moves that helped drive apart the Sunnis and the Americans.
Before addressing reporters, Khalilzad warmly introduced Sunni community leader Adnan al-Dulaimi and then stood by as he accused security forces of the Shiite-led Interior Ministry of murdering Sunnis. Al-Dulaimi demanded the resignation of Iraq's interior minister, a member of the biggest Shiite party.
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