“Consensus On Key Areas Of National Reconciliation”
Aug. 27 Various Agencies:
Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, and fellow leaders in the country have reached consensus on key areas of national reconciliation.
The Bush administration welcomed the reconciliation accord signed by Iraqi leaders, as pressure mounted on Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to bridge the country’s sectarian divide and show political progress.
The agreement is an “important symbol of their commitment to work together for the benefit of all Iraqis,” the White House said in a statement late yesterday. “We will continue to support these brave leaders.”
Iraq’s top Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians pledged yesterday to hold provincial elections, and had agreed on draft legislation that would ease curbs on former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party joining the civil service and military.
Consensus was also reached on a law governing provincial powers as well as setting up a mechanism to release some detainees held without charge, a key demand of Sunni Arabs since the majority being held are Sunnis.
Committees were formed to try to ensure a “balance” of Shia, Sunni Arabs and Kurds in government.
The appearance on Iraqi television of Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister who is Shia, along with four other leaders at a brief news conference, was a rare show of public unity.
The other four were Jalal Talabani, the president, who is Kurdish, Sunni vice-president Tareq al-Hashemi; Shia vice-president Adel Abdul-Mahdi, and Masoud Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
Barham Salih, Iraq’s deputy prime minister, said: “The five leaders representing Iraq’s major political communities … affirmed the principle of collective leadership to help deal with the many challenges faced by Iraq.
“I hope that this agreement will help Iraq move beyond the political impasse.”
The laws need to be passed by Iraq’s fractious parliament, which has yet to receive any of the drafts.
The accord comes about two weeks before General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the American ambassador, present a report to Congress on political progress and security in the nation. Some U.S. lawmakers say they are growing impatient with Maliki to overcome the political turmoil in Iraq and are pushing for a timetable to withdraw the 162,000 American military personnel in the country.
Baath rejection
But even before that likely difficult process, a purported spokesman for the Baath party dismissed the draft laws, saying his group would not deal with the Iraqi leadership until all US and foreign forces left the country.
Abu Muhib al-Baghdadi called the proposed legislation a “trap” and said it was “a decision that is non-binding for us”.
He added that the leaders’ declaration was an acknowledgment that the Baath was the only party able to get the country out of crisis.
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Hey carl levin, shove this up your ass and twist it around!
So what the hell are the domestic traitors going to do now? Military surge is changing the conditions on the ground which is giving space for the political development of the government.
With the violence and chaos in Iraq reduced the goverment can work on internal diplomacy. The different factions can work together for the greater good if they are not pulled into sectarian fighting simply to try and survive.
This is actually a thing of beauty to watch, this is the end game starting. God bless the troops and those brave souls who have given so much to bring this on. I also include the scores if Iraqi citizens in that. They are joining the modern world, rising from the ignorance and brutality of a violent dictatorial past.
It’s a bumpy road, but it is going in the right direction.
August 27th, 2007 at 4:58 amI can’t find this in the NY Times, LA Times, MSNBC, CNN…
August 27th, 2007 at 5:07 amI wonder how many of those released detainees will be Shia…vs how many would be from other tribes?
Maliki is an empty suit…The news sounds good….But I still think the future of Iraqi government lies with someone like Alawi or a strongman from some other tribe…
August 27th, 2007 at 7:20 am