"This is lies. LIES! They will roast us in our stomachs. They have us surrounded in their quagmire! Bow down to Iran"
Posted on 07/02/2008 4:42:34 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
BAGHDAD • Iraq's main Sunni Arab bloc is close to rejoining the Shia-led government, officials said yesterday, a move that would amount to a long-awaited political breakthrough.
Getting the Accordance Front to return to government after it quit nearly a year ago is widely seen as a key step in reconciling feuding factions after years of sectarian conflict. Sunni Arabs have little voice in the current cabinet, which is dominated by Shias and ethnic Kurds.
Asked if the Front was set to rejoin, spokesman Salim Al Jubouri said: "Yes. Many of our demands have been executed ... sharing of responsibility, the issuance of the
amnesty law."
An amnesty law passed in February has freed many prisoners from the minority Sunni Arab community. Sunni Arabs form the bulk of inmates after security forces detained thousands in security sweeps at the height of a Sunni Arab insurgency.
Jubouri said the Front had put forward names for cabinet posts to Shia Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki.
Government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh said Maliki would submit the names and their proposed ministries before a parliamentary vote, although he did not say when.
"There has been agreement with the Accordance Front that their share will be six ministerial posts, except the post of the Planning Ministry, which will be decided later," he said.
The Front pulled out of Maliki's cabinet last August, demanding the release of mainly Sunni Arab detainees and calling for a greater say in security matters.
On several occasions in the past it has appeared ready to rejoin the government, only for obstacles to suddenly emerge. The Front wanted the ministries of planning, culture, foreign affairs, higher education, women, and a post of deputy prime minister, as well as either the justice or transport ministries, Jubouri said. Some of these are vacant.
CIVILIAN DEATH TOLL FALLS IN JUNE
The apparent political progress coincides with violence levels hovering at four-year lows in Iraq. The number of civilians killed in June fell despite a few big bombings, government figures showed yesterday.
Numbers from the Health Ministry showed 448 civilians were killed in June, from 505 in May. The May figure was down from 968 civilian deaths in April, a month when fighting spiralled between Shia militias and security forces.
US troop deaths in Iraq rose to 29 in June from 19 in May, according to the independent website icasualties.org, which tracks American casualty figures. The May number was the lowest since the US-led invasion in 2003. In June last year, 101 US troops were killed. The five-year-old war in Iraq has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis.
Despite the improved security, US generals have stressed the gains are both fragile and reversible.
That was shown in March and April, when government offensives against Shia militias sparked a surge in violence in the capital Baghdad and other cities.
US officials credit the turnaround in security to President George W Bush's decision to send extra troops to Iraq, a rebellion by Sunni tribal leaders against Al Qaeda, and a ceasefire by anti-American Shia cleric Moqtada Al Sadr.
I Guess there maybe another Sunni Mosque on the hit list.
God Bless our troops.
Wonderful news as we prepare to celebrate our Independence. Iraq has its independence from a tyrannical government and we're all a little safer.
Nancy Pelosi didn’t give the floor to these Sunnis—who do they think they are.
A BTT for some excellent news. Crossing fingers.
Good news. I remember the Rats whining at Petraeus’ hearing last September about political reconciliation. Well it’s here now. It’s a sign we’ve made progress, but the Dems will move the goalposts nonetheless. Now we might want to work on political reconciliation in our OWN country...
FOX kept playing, over and over, the “Youtube” video of Dingy Harry Reid telling all of us how coal and oil “make us sick”. He was talking to the populace as if we were all eight year olds!! I am so sick of this collection of perverts, thieves, mental midgets, and mental defectives, trying to “modify my behavior” when it comes to energy consumption. I'm sure others are as well. When we need their help to change our behavior, we will call them. They had better not call us—and they'd better not forget who they work for!!
buuuuuuuuummmmmp !!
The only big-picture vision is some nebulous, imaginary John Lennon notion of an ideological God-free free-love utopia.
Yet here we have before us a real, concrete big-picture history item, with real people, real children, real lives, and real soldiers making a real difference. It would be great if we could all put the petty politics aside for once and show some appreciation to those making these differences. The best way to do that is to support their mission.
Excellent News!
I thought the very definition of an Iraqi Sunni was “An angry person who we tossed out of power, but who is coming around to our point of view.”
How many “the Sunnis are coming around” stories have we seen in the past 5 years? It’s gone on enough that they’re considering changing that childrens’ story from “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” to “The Boy Who Cried The Sunnis Are Coming Around”
I wouldn't even want to reconcile with the America-hating dims. I'd rather they get beaten so badly at the ballot box that they cease to exist, and then we reconcile with the better party that springs up in their place.
But then, I am an optimist.
“Now we might want to work on political reconciliation in our OWN country...”
Reconciliation!? With Dems!? You jest, right?.
Their Party have proven beyond doubt they’re well represented by their chosen Mascot. Stubborn and contrary to all that is wise and of consequence to this Nation.
How can we reconcile with “my way or the highway” mentality? We appeased them, and treated them with respect too long as it is, or we wouldn’t be in the predicament we are.
It’s far past time to bring in the steam roller and set it at full ahead. Crush them one and all.
This demoratic lead Congress has to be the worst Congress I have ever seen. They need to worry about pulling the plank from their own eye, so they will be able to see the splinter in someone else's eye.
I guess demorats are trying to point to other folk's bad behavior, so they can justify their own.
What will the Democrats do when Iraq ceases to be an issue?
Thanks Ernest.
Democrats: White House Overrates Iraq Progress
[iow, it’s not too late to retreat and abandon Iraq!]
Xinhua | 07.01.2008 | Xinhua
Posted on 07/02/2008 3:22:38 PM PDT by Coffee200am
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039946/posts
"This is lies. LIES! They will roast us in our stomachs. They have us surrounded in their quagmire! Bow down to Iran"
I meant THEY reconcile with us. As in drop their socialism and step into the real world. But I know that’s not going to happen.
Since the MSM probably have the eyes and ears of the undecided, i.e. likely the most uninformed of us, I've often thought of something that might be effective at letting these people know what the dems really have planned for our country.
I'm thinking of a series of billboards nation wide. Very simple but compelling. For example, a picture of Obama, large on the left side of the design, with just a single quote from him on the right, side by side with it's sister quote by K. Marx or the Communist Party USA. Then a final sentence, in large type below the quotes, asking, "Do you really want socialism for America? All very professionally designed for a dramatic impact.
Two weeks later in it's place another similar billboard with a different quote. Could be Obama again, or could be Pelosi, Maxine Waters, whoever. The idea is to get this information in front of people who still believe the evening news.
Of course, someone with deep pockets would be needed. Does anyone else think this would be effective in reversing the message from the major networks and newspapers?
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