So, it appears that the Iraqi Parliment didn’t take August off after all. The Iraqi Parliament has reached an agreement on several key pieces of legislation seen as the best chance for easing the sectarian strife plaguing the country.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq’s top Shi’ite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish political leaders announced on Sunday they had reached consensus on some key measures seen as vital to fostering national reconciliation.

The agreement by the five leaders was one of the most significant political developments in Iraq for months and was quickly welcomed by the United States, which hopes such moves will ease sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands…

White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore congratulated Iraq’s leaders on the accord, hailing it in a statement as “an important symbol of their commitment to work together for the benefit of all Iraqis.”

The apparent breakthrough comes two weeks before U.S. President George W. Bush’s top officials in Iraq present a report that could have a major influence on future American policy in Iraq.

Maliki’s appearance on Iraqi television with the four other leaders at a brief news conference was a rare show of public unity.

The other officials present were President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd; Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi; Shi’ite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, and Masoud Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

Iraqi officials said the five leaders had agreed on draft legislation that would ease curbs on former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party joining the civil service and military.

Consensus was also reached on a law governing provincial powers as well as setting up a mechanism to release some detainees held without charge, a key demand of Sunni Arabs since the majority being held are Sunnis.

This agreement shows that there has been great progress on the political front in Iraq, and of course, we know that there has been progress on the military front as well. The latest NIE talked about the progress made militarily because of the surge troops. And, of course, we have great front line reporting by guys like Michael Yon. Yon has written at length about the progress made in both Al Anbar and Baqubah. There are first hand accounts of progress being made in Baghdad itself from Iraq the Model as well, and General Petraeus gave a wide ranging on air interview to Hugh Hewitt detailing the progress being made in Iraq. The agreement also sheds new light on comments made by Maliki the other day which were directed at Senator Hillary Clinton (D - New York) and Carl Levin (D - Michigan).

Democrats and war opponents have been screaming for months that the fight in Iraq is not winnable solely through military force. They’ve been beating on Iraq’s leaders for not making progress on the political front. So, now the question is, what excuse will they use to pull our troops out now that there has been progress on the political front?

The Democrats have dug themselves a hole that won’t be easy to get out of. They’ve constantly fought to portray the war in Iraq as unwinnable. I think that this has had more to do with delivering a defeat to President Bush and the Republicans than any real thought that the war was actually unwinnable.

Take for example James Clyburn’s (D - South Carolina) comments that it would indeed be bad for the Democrats if we win in Iraq.  Or, for example, Murtha’s plans for changing the rules for deployment so that the military wouldn’t be able to deploy surge troops needed to secure the peace so that progress could be made on the political front. In my mind, these actions and comments can only be seen as an attempt to preemptively lose the war for political gain.

My guess is that one of three things will happen.

1. The Democrats will quietly pass another funding bill for operations in Iraq, and will hope that their past comments and actions will slip quietly from the consciousness of the American public.
2. They will say that progress has been made both militarily, and on the political front, but it is not happening fast enough.
3. They will say that since there’s been progress made both on the security front and the political front that our mission is accomplished, and it is time to pull our troops out and let Iraq defend itself.

In my mind, option number one is the most likely. Options two and three are too easily debunked. Option two — progress isn’t happening fast enough — is easily debunked because Iraq doesn’t run on our timetable. A timetable which is based more on our next election cycle than anything else.

Option three is flawed because the Iraqi Army is not capeable of sustained solo operations. They are making great progress, and by all accounts, they fight like lions. But the logistics infrastructure is not there yet. Neither are there enough trained and seasoned Iraqi troops to conduct the constant anti insurgency operations that will be necessary for a long time to come in that country.

One final thought. We are making progress in Iraq. The Iraqi government is making progress. Lets not throw away all the blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice, and treasure that has been expended to get this far.

Hat Tip: Captain’s Quarters

1. [...] Wake Up America, The Oxford Medievalist, Ace of Spades, The Baltimore Reporter, Noblesse Oblige, Thinking Right, Sublime Bloviations, Flopping Aces, Free Will Blog, The Jawa [...]

   Pingback by A Second Hand Conjecture » Iraqi Shia, Sunni and Kurdish leaders sign a reconciliation deal-Update — 8/26/2007 @ 22:43

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2. [...] Captain Ed asks, what will the Dems do now? Jim at Thinking Right has a pretty good idea: My guess is that one of three things will [...]

   Pingback by Iraq Political Solution: Benchmarks, smenchmarks. — 8/26/2007 @ 23:43

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1. 

   I’ll add a fourth and fifth option for the hapless Dems:

   4. We forced them to come to agreement by pretending to push for a withdrawal
   5. Hey, what about the health care insurance crisis?

   Comment by Frank Hagan — 8/26/2007 @ 23:49

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2. 

   Good job on the part of the US and the Iraqi goverment. The democrat supporters will just forget that they were anti-war and ignore all the liberal’s previous mistakes as they always have.

   Comment by Isaac — 8/27/2007 @ 05:11

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