The Sunni leaders said they were still working out the details of their return, an indication that the deal could still fall through. But such a return would represent a major political victory for Mr. Maliki in the midst of a military operation that has at times been criticized as poorly planned and fraught with risk. The principal group his security forces have been confronting is the Mahdi Army, a militia led by the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.
Even though Mr. Maliki’s American-backed offensive against elements of the Mahdi Army has frequently stalled and has led to bitter complaints of civilian casualties, the Sunni leaders said that the government had done enough to address their concerns that they had decided to end their boycott.
Another reason, an amensty law that was recently passed, one of those reconciliation measures that the Surge was suppoed to make possible, but which we have been told repeatedly by Clinton and Obama have never been enacted:
“Our conditions were very clear, and the government achieved some of them,” said Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of Tawafiq, the largest Sunni bloc in the government. Mr. Dulaimi said the achievements included “the general amnesty, chasing down the militias and disbanding them and curbing the outlaws.”
The amnesty law, passed in February, has already led to the release of many Sunni prisoners, convincing Sunni parties that the government is serious about enforcing it. And the attacks on Shiite militias have apparently begun to assuage longstanding complaints that only Sunni groups blamed for the insurgency have been the targets of American and Iraqi security forces.
While this is good news there is still fighting in Sadr City and basic services as poor as they were have apparently completely failed now. In order to keep winning hearts and minds we need to get the SeaBees in there and repair water and sewage pipes and get electricity restored to pacified areas now. (Are you listening to my ill-informed rants Centcom?)
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