From Iraqi election discussions

The Shiites and Kurds, with the two biggest blocs in the 275-seat parliament, were holding pivotal talks on the lineup of the first freely elected government in a half-a-century.

“Talks will continue today between the negotiating Kurdish delegation and representatives of the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) about the formation of the government,” Kurdish negotiator Kamal Fuad told AFP.

“The talks are being carried out smoothly and in some positive climate.”

After their session, the Kurds and the UIA were scheduled to meet outgoing prime minister Iyad Allawi, Fuad said.

But no politician wanted to predict when Iraq’s mosaic of Shiites, Kurds, Sunnis, Christians and Turkmen would unveil their government and the parliament reconvene.

“I cannot predict when that will be done. Maybe, today we will reach an agreement and it could take several days. It is something to be dealt with among the many sides,” Fuad said.

Now this is seen by those who also scoffed at the January 30 elections as just another sign that Iraqis can’t govern themselves. These people somehow forget their eighth grade history classes and the stories of the viscious personal battles that went into forming this country’s first government. And although those who will gather on the second anniversary of the invasion refuse to acknowledge it, Iraq is moving ever forward.

The Parliamentary bottleneck is due primarily to negotiations about a Speaker. Sunnis are angling for the high-profile post, saying that with the Shiite al-Jafaari the likely prime minister and a Kurd (Talabani) slated to be president, Sunnis would be frozen out of any real role in the new government. There are still noises from Sunni politicians questioning the legitimacy of the Parliament since so many Sunnis boycotted the elections. Out of the 275-seat governing body, Sunnis occupy 17.

I want to step out of the focus of this blog just a minute and state this in a purely personal tone:

We have been witnessing what I have called a great unveiling of human freedom in the hearts and minds of the Arab world. Protests from Beirut to Kuwait City to Dubai are energizing the entire region and making governments nervous. If we in fact are witnessing the flowering of an Arab Spring, it cannot be denied that the seeds were sown in Iraq and have been watered by Iraqi, American and British blood. The wave is passing out of the Arab sphere in to Iran where young people are aggitating for their own Persian Spring. Millions of people who have never known freedom or fairly elected government are now poised to take the first deep breaths of liberty.

It would be a fine thing indeed if instead of marching in American streets, those against the war would put as much effort and passion into helping the people in the Middle East find their way to consentual government.