ny times editorial discusses progress in iraq

Making (Some) Progress in Iraq http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/opinion/14thu2.html?pagewanted=print New York Times Editorial Good news is rare in Iraq. But after months of bitter feuding, Iraq’s Parliament has finally approved a budget, outlined the scope of provincial powers, set an Oct. 1 date for provincial elections and voted a general amnesty for detainees. All these steps are essential for national conciliation. As always in Iraq, it is best to read the fine print. Final details of the legislation aren’t known. The country’s three-member presidency council must still sign off. And then the laws have to be implemented. One month after Parliament approved a law intended to open government jobs to former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, American officials insist it will ensure that more former Baathists will be hired than barred. That will take a lot more good will and follow-through than Iraq’s central government has so far shown. The Bush administration — which has displayed only intermittent interest in Iraq’s political stalemates — will have to press a lot harder to make sure that all these new laws are translated into action. We are, of course, cheered by the news that representatives from Iraq’s three main ethnic groups — Shiite, Sunni and Kurd — finally saw some benefit in compromise. The Kurds’ largely autonomous regional government got what it wanted — a 17 percent share of the 2008 budget. The Sunnis will be the main beneficiaries of the amnesty law since 80 percent of the detainees in Iraqi jails are Sunnis. The third law will transfer more power to Iraq’s ethnically dominated provincial governments — something all groups say they want. There are already questions about whether the provincial governments will be ready to hold elections in October. The United States and its allies will have to move quickly to provide both funding and technical help. And there is a lot more work to be done. Iraq’s Parliament has yet to approve a law to ensure an equitable sharing of oil revenues. Unfortunately, Iraq’s leaders still appear to feel no real sense of urgency. And the Bush administration — which is now talking about a “pause” in the drawdown of American troops — certainly isn’t doing anything to change their minds. Right after Wednesday’s vote, Parliament members began a five-week holiday.