The one "political progress" in Iraq is back-firing

[Thorgrim]

BAGHDAD - Maj. Gen. Hussein al-Awadi, a former official in Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, became the commander of the Iraqi National Police despite a 2003 law barring the party from government.

But now, under new legislation promoted as way to return former Baathists to public life, the 56-year-old and thousands like him could be forced out of jobs they have been allowed to hold, according to Iraqi lawmakers and the government agency that oversees ex-Baathists.

"This new law is very confusing," Awadi said. "I don't really know what it means for me."

He is not alone. More than a dozen Iraqi lawmakers, U.S. officials and former Baathists here and in exile expressed concern in interviews that the law could set off a new purge of ex-Baathists, the opposite of U.S. hopes for the legislation.

Iraq's ex-Baathists face another purge - Washington Post - MSNBC.com

I've heard from the beginning that this new baathist reconciliation didn't much and was just something Bush pushed on unwilling Iraqi's who still have deep civil war divides over their Sunni minority

Now it looks as though it's back firing, the Shia under no circumstance want to expand the law, they feel they've given into the Americans too much already, and are eternally angered by our arming and paying for insurgent mercenaries just so there is a ceasefire

Even worse, the Sunni are seeing this is giving them next to nothing, and in fact puts those in high place positions at risk...

Another setback in Iraq...no political progress in over a year, I wonder if Bush will still put the new law in his SOTU, hoping Americans don't read the news

Because, guess what, Fox News doesn't have the story anywhere, they'll cave if enough pressure comes in...but bad news from Iraq is a no-no for the GOP/Fox talking points

[bheld]

Time to end the occupation.

[tbone]

It's what you get when you have a man that doesn't even know how to pronounce "Awadi" trying to push through his vision of what should be done in a region that he knows nothing about.

[motivez]

What's interesting is how the story about the surge has left out that Al'Sadr and other Shiite militias, responsible for many US troop deaths, called a truce on their own, not because of anything we did (or because of the surge)

That truce is the single greatest reason we've had significantly less violence.. If for some reason they were to start up again, I don't think the surge would be effective at quelling it

Also, the whole reason for the surge was to gain control to give breathing room for the politicians.. but if there's no political will to make tough decisions and come to an agreement, then the surge is a failed strategy that's temporarily reduced violence

[kombayn]

Get us out of there. I have a friend who is in Ft. Worth, Missouri at Boot Camp. He is partially color-blind so he could not become a combat engineer, so he chose combat-medic, my highest respects go out to Private Garcia for picking a job like that. But, I don't want him being sent there since we really don't have the right to occupy.

Ron Paul said it best, it was a plan made by President Clinton at the time in 1998, paving the way for the next President. They used 9/11 as a reason to get the job done, it was politically unpopular and we over-ruled the U.N. And lets not think that Washington didn't know what it was doing, they all knew, only a few had the balls to vote NO.

The so-called "political extremists" are the only ones that have had our best interests from the start. All I know is if Clinton or one of the Pro-War GOP's get into office, we're screwed and not getting out of Iraq for a LONG TIME. This truly can be the next Vitenam.