With one day left to finish Iraq's new constitution, Sunni Arabs asked Sunday that the divisive issue of federalism be put off until next year so the draft can be completed on time, warning they would not accept provisions for federated states. American officials applied pressure to resolve differences on that and other issues before Monday's deadline for parliament to adopt the constitution, and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said he was convinced the Iraqis would succeed.Some politicians said the draft could be presented to the Shiite- and Kurdish-led parliament Monday over Sunni Arab objections. But that would further alienate that disaffected minority, undercutting the U.S. goal of using the political process to take the steam out of the Sunni-dominated insurgency. "It looks like all the agreements are being made only by the Kurds and the Shiites without even asking our opinion," Sunni Arab official Saleh al-Mutlaq said Sunday. "I believe the draft is going to be presented tomorrow even if it is not finished, with or without our approval."
Parliament scheduled a meeting for 6 p.m. (10 a.m. EDT) Monday to allow as much time as possible for negotiators to agree on a draft. The main obstacle was the argument over federalism, which the formerly dominant Sunni Arabs fear could lead to Kurdish and Shiite Muslim regions splitting away from Iraq. But al-Mutlaq said there also was no agreement on 17 other issues, including the distribution of oil wealth. Another Sunni official voiced objections over a Shiite-Kurdish deal to grant special status to the clerical hierarchy of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority.