Is this a sign of political progress peggy??
Iraq passes two critical laws and a budget
Posted by: McQ
Last Sunday, CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Nancy Peolosi about the success of the "surge" in Iraq.
"Are you not worried, though, that all the gains that have been achieved over the past year might be lost?" Blitzer asked.
"There haven't been gains, Wolf," Pelosi replied. "The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure."
Yet today, out of Iraq, comes news that three significant laws were passed by the Iraqi parliament.
First, the The Provincial Powers Law.
It represents an important step toward framing the balance the Iraqi people seek between central government authority and the strengthening of local governments. After many months of careful preparation, the passage of this landmark law represents a historic compromise for Iraqi legislators. The Provincial Powers Law is also a major component of the "benchmark" for setting in place a framework to conduct provincial elections by October 1, 2008.
Key features of the law include:
* Along with the Elections Law, the Provincial Powers Law provides the authorities to hold new provincial elections and delineates authorities of the federal government in relation to the provinces.
* The law defines the relationship of the central government in Baghdad to the provincial governments.
* The law devolves power to the local level in a decentralized system that is groundbreaking for the region - in the Middle East, only the United Arab Emirates has a strong federal system of government.
It also promises further positive action:
The Provincial Powers Law lays the groundwork for provincial elections by requiring the Council of Representatives to pass an elections law within 90 days. Furthermore, this new law sets the date for provincial elections no later than October 1, 2008. Early provincial elections will help enfranchise Sunni Arabs and others who boycotted the 2005 elections.
Then there's the General Amnesty Law:
It represents major progress on a key benchmark to facilitate political reconciliation and the rule of law in Iraq. The General Amnesty Law addresses the scope of eligibility for amnesty for Iraqis in Iraqi detention facilities, whether they have been brought to trial or not. The law exempts from this amnesty those who have committed specific serious crimes, such as premeditated murder or kidnapping, and those who are subject to the death penalty.
The General Amnesty law received broad support from all major political parties in the Council of Representatives. The bill next will be sent to the Presidency Council, which has ten calendar days in which to either sign or reject the legislation. Once through the Presidency Council, the law enters into force on the day it is published in the official gazette.
And last, but certainly not least a budget has been passed by the parliament:
Passage of the 2008 Budget Law represents a significant milestone in Iraq's transition toward using its own resources to provide for security, economic reconstruction, and essential services. This $48 billion budget is a 17 percent increase in expenditures over last year's budget and reflects compromises among Iraq's major political parties:
Security expenditures will increase by 23 percent - from $7.3 billion to $9.0 billion - with $5.1 billion earmarked for the Ministry of Defense and $3.9 billion earmarked for the Ministry of Interior.
The 2008 Budget allots $13.2 billion for investment spending, an increase of 32 percent over last year's $10.0 billion.
Capital funds allocated to the 15 provinces will increase over 50 percent, from $2.1 billion to $3.3 billion, reflecting the improved budget execution performance by provinces in 2007.
Total allocations for the Kurdistan Regional Government will grow from $1.6 billion to $2.7 billion.
Iraq's 2008 budget contains funding for several key programs necessary to promote economic development and support security gains, including:
* $70 million for a Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program;
* $417 million for public works programs;
* $250 million for housing and construction programs; and
* $62 million for agricultural programs.
Based on increased crude oil exports and persistently high oil prices, Iraq is well positioned to afford an expanded budget in 2008. Oil revenues are expected to grow from $31.0 billion in 2007 to $35.5 billion this year, an increase of 15 percent. Other revenues are expected to grow from $2.4 billion to $6.9 billion.
I assume the usual Nancy Pelosi lites will beam in to tell us again, for the umpteenth time, that the surge has failed and that nothing is being accomplished in Iraq to meet the benchmarks. Do everyone a favor this time and instead of opinion and conjecture, deal with the facts as presented above, ok? See if you can manage to turn those into a convincing argument that no progress is being made in Iraq and the surge has failed, will you?
AI
