MILITARY ~ Honor, Duty, Country

[fazoolius]

Bummer that the surge isn't working...Oh, wait...YES IT IS!


Iraqi Lawmakers Pass 3 Crucial Laws

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/world/middleeast/14iraq.html?ex=1360645200&en=7726aa6a904c0a5f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

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By ALISSA J. RUBIN
Published: February 14, 2008

BAGHDAD — Using old-fashioned behind-the-scenes politicking, Iraq’s Parliamentary leaders pushed through three divisive laws that had been delayed for months by bitter maneuvering between factions and, recently, threats to dissolve the legislative body.

More than any legislation approved so far, the three measures have the potential to spur reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites and set the country on the road to a more representative government.

The three laws are the 2008 budget, a law outlining the scope of provincial powers — a crucial aspect of Iraq’s self-definition as a federal state — and an amnesty that will cover thousands of the detainees held in Iraqi jails, including thousands of Sunnis, many of whom have been held without charges for months and, in a few cases, more than a year. It will be the largest release at one time since 2003.

The freeing of detainees who have not been charged has been a headline issue for Sunni legislators in Parliament and for the Sunni vice-president, Tariq al-Hashimi, who have charged that the Shiite-dominated security forces have charged many innocent Sunnis with being members of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, an extremist Sunni group that American intelligence says is foreign-led.

The three measures were put to a vote as a single package and passed Wednesday afternoon. There were 206 legislators of the 275-member body at the session, according to the Parliament’s press office. “Today we have a wedding party for the Iraqi parliament,” said Mahmoud Mashadani, the speaker, who is a Sunni. “We have proved that Iraqis are one bloc and parliament is able to find solutions that represent all Iraqis.”

Khalid al-Attiya, the deputy speaker and a Shiite beamed as he told reporters right after the vote that the laws had passed “unanimously.”

“It is a big achievement,” he said and promised that approval of the budget and spending associated with it would translate into as many as 700,000 new jobs for Iraqis.

Even factions that did not agree with some of the measures, said they did not want to vote against the measures but allowed those members who disagreed with the measure to leave the chamber for the vote. “The Iraqiya List did not want to create a political crisis in a time when the country has suffered a lot, “ said Aliya Nesayef, a member of the Iraqiya List, which agreed with the amnesty law but was uncomfortable with both the budget and the provincial powers law.

Passage of the measures represent a significant achievement for the Iraqi Parliament, which on many days could not muster a quorum. The approach of voting on the three laws together broke the logjam because it allowed every group to boast that they had a win. Leaders of the blocs — Shiite, Sunni and Kurd — realized that while no one of the laws could pass on its own, together they offered something for each political constituency. So factions would swallow the measures they liked less in order to get the one they wanted.

The Kurds wanted the budget in its current form, which guarantees the regional government 17 percent of the country’s revenues after subtracting the costs of federal ministries that serve the entire country, like Foreign Affairs and Defense.

The Sunnis wanted the amnesty because about 80 percent of the more than 26,000 detainees in Iraqi jails are Sunnis. About half of all detainees have not been sentenced.

Most Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds wanted the provincial powers measure because they are eager to ensure that substantial power rests in the provinces rather than the central government. For all three groups, former President Saddam Hussein’s strong centralized bureaucracy, which strictly controlled all decisions, was anathema. They see a more decentralized power structure as a better guarantee of freedoms and rights.

The only controversy was over the inclusion of a date for holding provincial elections. Two political parties, one Shiite and one Sunni, stand to lose control of one or more provincial councils. Those groups would prefer to defer the vote indefinitely. But the majority, supported setting a date certain and Mr. Mashadani, the speaker, forced the inclusion of a date at the last minute. The provincial elections must be held by Oct. 1.

The Bush administration has pushed hard for passage of the provincial powers law, and President Bush has said he would like to see new provincial elections held before the end of his term.

Supporters of the American troop increase in 2007 touted it as a way to stabilize the country, bringing Iraqi politicians the political space they needed to pass legislation that could pave the way for reconciliation between the sects. For months it appeared that little was moving on the political front, but now it seems that the decline in violence did contribute to a change in the atmosphere.

After the laws are approved by the Presidency Council — in this case a pro forma step since all of the political blocs agreed to their passage — they will be published. The particulars of the laws remained unclear in part because changes were made in the last minutes of the legislative process

However, embedded in each of the measures are the same problems that created the controversy in the first place. For instance, on the budget, the size of the Kurdish share has merely been deferred for a year. The 17 percent agreement is only for this year; next year it will be re-negotiated and there is a strong push to reduce their share.

On the provincial powers law, which includes a requirement that elections be held next fall, there are serious problems with the election commission both at the national and provincial level, raising questions about whether a vote will be viewed as fair or merely deepen divisions among and within sects. Worries about that could end up delaying the elections.

And, still left out of the political bargain are the newly formed Awakening Councils, which are predominantly Sunni and in many cases represent powerful tribes. They have taken the lead in fighting extremist Sunni groups, and now their leaders are clambering for a place at the table. They are outraged that the Iraqi Islamic Party, which is Sunni but has limited grass-roots support, dominates the provincial council in Anbar.

“In Anbar Province we want the provincial council disbanded and another one formed, we want elections to be held in March or April and we want the Iraqi Islamic Party to leave the province in 30 days,” said Sheikh Ali Hatem, one of the leaders of the Anbar Awakening, who survived a suicide bomb attack earlier this week.

There appeared to be little chance of elections before the fall.



I wonder how the lefties are going to spin this one!!! They are going to get crushed on this come November only if the media stops burying the war from the headlines.

COME ON BOYS! Let's kick some A$$ over there! My hat is off and my heart out to all who serve their country with honor!

-faz