A new Sunni strategy in Iraq

But Mr. Ani's group offers a cautionary tale in the perils of balancing credibility among Sunnis while supporting participation in the political process.

After campaigning for Sunnis to vote "no" in the constitutional referendum, the Iraqi Islamic Party suddenly agreed with US, Shiite, and Kurdish negotiators, and called for Sunnis to support the document just three days before the referendum. A deal was struck to make it easier to amend the constitution in the future. The move was hailed by US and Iraqis government leaders, but to average Sunnis it was a sellout.

"It was not a good change [to support the constitution]. It's not a normal change because there are many influences on this decision and not all the Sunni demands were fulfilled," says Abdel Tahman, a Sunni who voted, hinting that Iran or the US had a hand in the party's last-minute change in opinion, reflecting the sentiment of many Sunnis who voted against the constitution. "The reaction of the Sunni street was built on passion and emotion because they didn't [see] what the Islamic Party [did] in a good way," says Salim al-Jabouri, a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party, conceding that the decision cost them in credibility.

"[But] it's only a matter of time, and in the coming days people will change their minds on the Islamic Party and they will understand the Islamic Party point of view on the matter," he says.

Getting average Sunnis to vote in December's polls may not be as difficult as it once seemed. The high turnout in Sunni Arab regions of Iraq in the constitutional referendum showed that average Sunnis are now more engaged in the political process. But spreading a sense that Sunnis are better off supporting the political process rather than the insurgency still remains a challenge.

Indeed, in the midst of the Sunni political maneuvering, and barely two weeks after the country approved a permanent constitution, dozens of Iraqi citizens and security forces have died in bombings, shootings, and other violence throughout the country.

On Tuesday, the US military death toll surpassed the 2,000 mark. The day before, two car bombs and a massive cement-truck bomb that targeted a Baghdad hotel used by foreigners killed at least 10 Iraqi civilians, a smaller attack that had broad impact because the spectacular explosions were caught on camera.

One main reason Sunnis don't feel they are stakeholders in governing their own country is the widespread fear that the elected government - and its security services - is targeting them.

Sadia Yousef, is a common example. After voting in the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, she waved her hand, the purple ink barely dried on her finger after voting "no." Overwraught, she described how her nephew disappeared into the custody of the Ministry of Interior three months ago.

"He is only a student, only a student," she said emphatically from under a loosely tied head scarf. "He is an innocent man. So kind ... he is not political, he is an educated man."

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