Iraqi leaders sign unity accord

[demoleft]

Source: BBC

Iraqi Shia, Sunni and Kurdish leaders have signed a reconciliation deal, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki says.

The accord was the second step towards rebuilding Iraq's political process, Mr Maliki said, after four Shia and Kurdish parties formed a new alliance.

A committee formed by the parties had "accomplished some solutions," he said.

Issues under discussion include holding provincial elections and easing a ban on former Baath party members in the civil service and military.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6964933.stm

[rodeodance]

1. Reuters: Iraq's leaders agree on key U.S. benchmarks

Iraq's leaders agree on key U.S. benchmarks

By Waleed Ibrahim 49 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish leaders announced on Sunday they had reached consensus on some key laws that Washington views as vital to fostering national reconciliation.
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The appearance of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Iraqi television with the other leaders was a rare show of public unity amid crumbling support for the prime minister's government.

The other officials at the news conference were President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd; Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi; Shi'ite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, and Masoud Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

Iraqi officials said the leaders had signed an agreement on easing restrictions on former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party joining the civil service and military.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070826/pl_nm/iraq_dc;_ylt=Avy.xrlavsLOS8wAn_VHTJas0NUE

[rodeodance]

2. i do believe that their Parliment has to sign off of these?????

[understandinglife]

3. Money quote: "Earlier on Sunday, Mr Maliki hit back at senior US politicians who have called ...

... for him to be removed from office, singling out senators Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin.

He said the Democratic senators were acting as if Iraq was "their property" and that they should "come to their senses" and "respect democracy".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6964933.stm

Interesting ... guess he can smell the stench of a dem neocon as well as that of a repuke neocon ... oh, and Hill, great going getting that Kristol endorsement ... you rock :rofl:


Congress - it's called INHERENT CONTEMPT ... and it's long overdue for Bush, Cheney and others to be so charged

[Eugene]

4. Guardian: US pressure forces move to reconciliation

Source: The Guardian

US pressure forces move to reconciliation

· Shia, Sunni and Kurdish parties achieve consensus
· Deal may not be enough to end boycott of cabinet

Ian Black, Middle East editor and Ed Pilkington
Monday August 27, 2007
The Guardian

Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, and fellow
leaders in the country have reached consensus on
key areas of national reconciliation, under mounting
US pressure to demonstrate political progress on the
eve of a key report to Congress on the Baghdad
security "surge".

The Shia prime minister appeared on television
flanked by Jalal Talabani, the country's Kurdish
president, and the Sunni vice-president, Tareq al-
Hashemi, to announce a deal on easing restrictions
on former members of the Ba'ath party joining the
civil service and military.

-snip-

It was not immediately clear how, or when, these
moves would be implemented and how far they
would go to reversing the almost total Sunni
boycott of the cabinet - the centre of Mr Maliki's
difficulties. The beleaguered prime minister,
facing mounting criticism from within the Bush
administration, announced earlier that Mr Hashemi's
Iraqi Islamic party was about to join with the four
Shia and Kurdish parties which recently forged an
alliance.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2157006,00.html

[demoleft]

5. Bush hails Iraq's political deal - BBC

BBC, 27 August 2007:

'US President George W Bush has welcomed a reconciliation agreement among Iraqi leaders, but warned that much work remained to quell sectarian violence.
He was speaking a day after the deal among Iraqi Shia, Sunni and Kurdish politicians was announced by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.
...
"Yesterday's agreement reflects their commitment to work together for the benefit of all Iraqis to further the process," Mr Bush said in a brief statement in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
...
US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and US ambassador Ryan Crocker are expected to report to US Congress in mid-September on progress in Iraq since the troop surge.'

BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6965966.stm