Juan Cole notes that a Shiite-Kurdish deal to name a government “when the National Assembly convenes next week” is big news and wonders why it isn’t making headlines everywhere.
The Shiite-Kurdish deal calls on the government to begin discussion on the return of about 100,000 Kurds to the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk and talks about redrawing existing Kurdish regions to include the city in Iraq’s new constitution.
It also gives the Kurds just one major Cabinet post – one less than they demanded – in return for making one of their leaders, Jalal Talabani, Iraq’s first-ever Kurdish president. One ministry will go to the country’s Sunni Arab minority.
The Kurds agreed to back conservative Islamic Daawa party leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari for prime minister.
As part of the deal, any land agreement will be incorporated into the country’s new constitution, which must be drafted by mid-August and approved by referendum two months later.
“As for Kirkuk, we agreed to solve the issue in two steps. First, the new government is committed to normalizing the situation in Kirkuk, the second step regarding annexing Kirkuk to Kurdistan is to be left until the writing of the Constitution,” said Fouad Masoum, a member of the Kurdish coalition.
In fact, this development appears to be the breakthrough Pepe Escobar states is essential to averting civil war.
The U.S. presence is more of a hindrance than ever in Iraq now.