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In surprise deal, Iraqi parliament passes three laws long-sought by U.S.
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| Contributor | kal |
| Last Edited | kal Feb 16, 2008 01:54am |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - USA Today |
| News Date | Saturday, February 16, 2008 07:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Iraq's parliament took its biggest step yet toward reconciling the country's rival factions Wednesday, passing three benchmark pieces of legislation that had been demanded by Washington.
The surprise deal reached by Shiite Arab, Sunni Arab and Kurdish politicians was the kind of breakthrough that President Bush has called for since last year, when he ordered an increase in U.S. troops to give Iraqi politicians "breathing space" to work out their differences.
U.S. and Iraqi leaders expressed hopes the agreement would help resolve long-standing grievances, such as the treatment of former Sunni insurgents, that have fueled violence among Iraq's ethnic and religious groups.
"This is potentially a big moment," Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said in an interview
The laws address some of the 18 political benchmarks established last year by the U.S. Congress to measure progress in Iraq. Other key legislation, including a law that would more fairly share oil revenues, has yet to be approved.
"This will solve a lot of security problems in a lot of Iraqi cities and will strengthen the process of national reconciliation," said Basem Sharif, a Shiite lawmaker.
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