Political wrangling still stands in way of Iraq meeting major benchmarks

[maddezmom]

~snip~

And recent talk of changes in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government may just increase the paralysis as groups maneuver for more power.

Iraq missed the Dec. 31 target dates to enact laws establishing provincial elections, regulating distribution of the country's oil wealth and reversing measures that have excluded many Sunni Muslims from jobs and government positions because they belonged to Saddam Hussein's Baath party.

The U.S. is also pushing for constitutional amendments to remove articles which the Sunnis believe discriminate in favor of the Shiite Muslims and Kurds.

So far, the only success has been a new oil law, which al-Maliki's Cabinet endorsed on Feb. 26 and sent to parliament for approval. Leaders of all main political blocs have pledged to support the bill, which lays down rules for negotiating contracts and distributing the revenues among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.

But parliament has not taken up the measure yet, and the deputy speaker told The Associated Press that the draft may have to be sent back to the Cabinet because al-Maliki's staff skipped some legal steps in endorsing it the first time.

more:http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/11/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Benchmarks.php

[yurbud]

1. the only "success" is an oil law that gives big oil most of what it wants?