Sunni Delegates May Return to Iraq Talks Today

Sunni Arab leaders who suspended participation in drafting Iraq’s new constitution after one of their negotiators was assassinated made clear Monday that they would return to the talks, most likely today, after receiving assurances from Iraqi and U.S. officials.

“We have decided to rejoin,” said Iyad Samarrai, a member of the Sunni delegation and a senior figure in the Iraqi Islamic Party.

The Sunni delegates left the talks last week after one of their negotiators, Mijbil Issa, was assassinated along with a legal advisor to the delegation and a friend. Although the assassination was the precipitating factor, Sunnis had also expressed unease with the reluctance of Kurds and Shiites to take Sunni positions seriously.

Key to their return was the assurance that the government would pay for security guards for Sunni delegates, as it does for members of the National Assembly, even though the Sunni delegates are not elected Assembly members.

A second factor was the agreement to have the Iraqi judiciary investigate the killings with the participation of a Sunni observer.

Sunnis had objected to a proposed Interior Ministry investigation, saying the ministry has many Shiite employees who are biased against Sunnis.

“Most of our problems are at the Ministry of the Interior,” said Samarrai. “It’s not anyone in particular. I don’t have anything against any particular group, but we have a lot of distrust for the ministry, so people prefer to have others do such a sensitive investigation.”

The group also demanded that the chairman of the commission drafting the constitution retract statements suggesting the draft was nearly done. The commission is facing an Aug. 15 deadline.

Although there was no formal retraction, Kurdish and Shiite members of the National Assembly made a point of saying they were waiting for the Sunnis to return before turning to the issues on which significant disagreements remain.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad hailed the Sunni decision to participate and said the U.S. would consider helping in any way it could.

“With those assurances, I understand that the members who have suspended their participation will meet with their affiliated parties and political groups,” he said, adding that the Iraqis he had spoken to were “hopeful and optimistic.”

Khalilzad also sent mixed messages about how long American troops might stay in Iraq.

He spoke of having Iraqi troops replace Americans, but he also suggested there could be a short-term increase in troop strength as well as a longer-term drawdown.

“We are here to help during this transition,” Khalilzad said. “We will stay as long as we are needed. We will adjust the composition of the force, the size of the force, as needed. As Iraqis build up, as President Bush has said, we will go down.”

Australian Prime Minister John Howard made a surprise visit to Baghdad on Monday, meeting with Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari and members of the Cabinet.

Australia has more than 700 troops in Iraq and has been one of the staunchest supporters of the United States in the war.

In continuing violence in Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, the head of the local council, Taha Ahmed, was assassinated along with an associate.

A U.S. soldier also was killed near Samarra when an explosive device detonated under his vehicle, the military said Monday. His name was being withheld until his family had been notified.

There were new efforts to end the violence.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi said tribal leaders from the turbulent northern city of Tall Afar and government officials had reached an agreement under which tribal leaders would stop siding with insurgents and all armed men would leave the streets. In exchange, the government will release innocent residents from prison and provide much-needed resources such as electricity and water.

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Times staff writer Caesar Ahmed contributed to this report.