Just as I had predicted, Iraq’s Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) is reaching out to Kurdish and Sunni parties to form a new coalition government. Even though the UIA has imposed valid conditions on Sunni participation, the cessation of terrorist violence, the BBC reports:

Two leading Sunni politicians on Saturday expressed their interest in joining a coalition government.

And the Beeb gives the politicking a “positive assessment:”

The BBC’s Jonny Dymond in Baghdad says there has been a flurry of positive feeling about the idea of a national unity government.

Hussein al-Shahristani, deputy speaker of the current parliament and a senior member of the UIA, said the party would be happy to review the Iraqi constitution, a key demand of the Sunnis.

But he warned the Sunni parties that if they wanted to join the coalition, they would have to fight the insurgency actively.

“We’ll require them not only to condemn terrorism - as they do normally - but to work with us in combating terrorism and overcoming it,” he said.

The frontline of the battle against insurgents was often in Sunni areas, he added.

As an afterthought, I was discussing the latest Iraqi developments with a dear, old friend last night — a person who does not like Bush and has been suspicious about Iraq’s liberation. But he conceded that he now feels more hopeful that Iraqis will achieve democracy and stability.

We are living in interesting and exciting times…