Iraq's parliament began discussing a draft law Sunday that would ease job restrictions on former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party. But a political faction loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr jeered and raised objections that halted the presentation of the bill.
| Mookie needs to have another conversation with Sistani, and then another one with Gen. Petreaus. |
It is the first time this year that Iraq's parliament has debated a major bill that Washington hopes will promote reconciliation among Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds. The proposed law would make it easier for former Baathists, many of them Sunnis, to apply for jobs in the Iraqi government. |