http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20031120/pl_afp/iraq_us_shiites&cid=1521&ncid=1480<snip>
"Our basic position is that as we get to know more of Iraqi society, we're more comfortable with a democratic process, and if that emerges with a predominant Shiite role, so be it," an unnamed US official told The New York Times.
"There's been a steady education process here," the administration official added referring to dwindling US fears that a Shiite government might install an Iranian-influenced theocracy in Iraq.
Iraq's majority Shiite population, which predominantly inhabits the south, is not a monolithic bloc and not necessarily dominated by Tehran, US officials said.
The changing perception of Iraq's Shiite masses, they added, laid the groundwork for last week's decision to accelerate the timetable for self-government in Iraq.
Nevertheless, the officials said, the United States is taking steps to ensure that a Shiite-dominated government would respect religious freedom and minority rights.
It is also trying to reassure Iraq's neighbors such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Gulf states that a Shiite-governed Iraq would pose no threat to them by inflaming their own Shiite populations.
Some experts in Middle Eastern affairs cautioned, however, that most Iraqi Shiites want to give Islam official standing in any system they establish, and strongly favor recognizing Islamic law as a founding principle.
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