Worse, if Mr. Assad's government collapsed, chances are the ethnic turmoil that would result would bring to power militant Sunnis who would actively aid the jihadists in Iraq.

The Iraqi government's move to modify the de-Baathification law, if it goes through, would be a victory for Mr. Khalilzad who pushed hard to bring Sunnis back into the government.

"There are great efforts to bring Sunnis into the fold and balance out the army as much as possible."

He deliberately chose this date because it was the one recognized by the Sunni Muslims, and he wished to bring all the Muslims, Shi'is and Sunnis, closer to each other.

For the moment, the effort to bring Sunnis into government appears to have stalled, and some Iraqi officials say that could provoke further insurgent attacks.

King Abdullah has attempted to bring Sunnis and Shiites together and advance towards religious tolerance.

The best hope for peace in Iraq is a political settlement, in which Shiite leaders make political concessions to bring Sunnis out of the insurgency and into decision making.

And with general elections scheduled for January, Dr. Allawi and American officials are scrambling for ways to bring reluctant Sunnis into the political process.

Efforts to bring Sunnis into the Shiite-led government have been haphazard at best.

Only by bringing genuinely representative Sunnis into the new government will there be any chance of damping down the Sunni insurgency to the point where serious reconstruction can begin.