Juan Cole: May 11, 2005 Part 2

Constitution-Drafting Subcommittee Excludes Sunnis
Chalabi to be Pardoned

Hamza Hendawi reports that the new government will attempt to use high Sunni officials such as Defense Minister Saadoun Dulaimi and Vice Premier Abid Mutlak al-Juburi (Jiburi) to reach out to Sunni Arab moderates. Few expect this effort to have an effect on the guerrillas. But it might draw away some fence-sitters among the Sunni Arab notables. Hendawi notes, " Key members of the Shiite Alliance, the largest parliamentary bloc with 140 seats, say the government plans to amend a 2003 ''de-Baathification'' law to give judges the final say on dismissing suspected Baathists. They hope that will make the process fairer in the eyes of Sunni Arabs."