I know we should all be talking about Jerome Armstrong and Bill Keller, but today’s news from Iraq strikes me as a big deal:
One of Iraq’s largest Sunni Arab groups endorsed the prime minister’s national reconciliation plan on Tuesday, and the government announced new benefits to help freed detainees return to normal lives.
The political moves came a day after bombs killed at least 40 people at markets in two Iraqi cities, while key lawmakers said seven Sunni Arab insurgent groups offered the government a conditional truce…
In the first tangible measure after the reconciliation plan was announced on Sunday, the council of ministers said government employees who had been detained and recently released will be reinstated to their jobs and their service should be considered uninterrupted in consideration of bonuses, promotion and retirement privileges.
The ministers said freed students will be allowed to return to school to take their final exams and will not be failed for the 2005-2006 school year despite time missed…
In another boost for the Shiite prime minister’s reconciliation proposal, prominent Sunni cleric Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samaraie offered the support of his Sunni Endowment, the state agency responsible for Sunni mosques and shrines.
But he urged the government to move quickly to fill in the details of the plan and said it should include the disbanding of armed militias, as well as the release of all prisoners who have not been convicted.
"We bless this initiative," he said. "We see a glimpse of hope out of this plan, but at the same time we are noticing that some people are pushing the armed groups to attack some areas in Baghdad, spreading terror and chaos in the city in order to make this plan a failure."
"Thus, the government is required to take decisive actions so that the citizens feel that the state is a real protector," he added.
The only hope for Iraq is that more Sunnis can be drawn into the government and that the government finds the political will to rein in Shiite militias. The news suggests modest progress on both fronts, which would allow for better deployment of American troops. Mohammed comments here.
The Dish 