Iraq Sunnis reject compromise on constitution

[merwin]

Iraq Sunnis reject compromise on constitution

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Political leaders of Iraq's Sunni minority rejected a compromise offer on giving them more say in the drafting of a constitution on Friday.

Scattered violence, including the discovery of 16 victims of execution-style killings and a gun attack on a Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad, highlighted the dangers if growing friction among Iraq's religious and ethnic communities.

The identities of the dead found at two spots near the Syrian border were unclear. But there were fears for the lives of 20 or more soldiers from the mainly Shi'ite south who were kidnapped nearby, apparently by Sunni al Qaeda fighters.

It was not clear how the Shi'ite-dominated National Assembly and government would react to the rejection by the main Sunni political group of an offer of more seats on the parliamentary committee charged with drafting a constitution by Aug. 15.

Further wrangling could jeopardize that deadline.

...

[acmavm]

1. Can't you just hear Gomer Pyle in the background going

"S'prise, s'prise"?

[Roland99]

2. I predicted this months ago.

[Igel]

3. How to score points in an honor-centered culture.

The press certainly likes being manipulated, doesn't it?