Word: iraqi
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...Until this year, the Bush Administration had appeared to take for granted al-Maliki's acquiescence when push came to shove. The Iraqi Prime Minister had, for example, publicly opposed the surge of some 30,000 additional U.S. troops deployed in Iraq last year, but when they came anyway, al-Maliki's government muffled its dissent. That left many in the region and beyond questioning the extent of sovereign control exercised by the Iraqi government...
Appearing alongside Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Baghdad on Thursday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari made a point of highlighting concessions made to his government by the U.S. "The U.S. negotiators indeed show a great deal of flexibility and understanding," said Zebari, who described the latest developments in protracted talks over the future status of American forces in Iraq...
...Rice both acknowledged that the security agreement they're pursuing would include a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, which was demanded by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki but initially resisted by Washington. In what may be another reluctant U.S. concession to al-Maliki, Iraqi officials say the current draft agreement strips the immunity given to private security contractors working with the U.S. military and diplomatic staff. Rice said Thursday that the U.S. side considers the pending deal acceptable, effectively leaving final approval to the Iraqi government and the parliament, which must ratify the pact after...
...Things have changed in recent months, however, with al-Maliki steadily strengthening his own political footing. Through a series of battles earlier this year, the improved Iraqi security forces nearly managed to marginalize the Mahdi Army militia of powerful Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Prime Minister's chief rival. Moreover, the Iraqi army has shown new muscle in Sunni areas of Iraq like Diyala province, even as the Prime Minister shored up Sunni support for his government in Baghdad - a delicate political process involving force and cajoling but little compromise on his part...
...company looking to get involved in Iraq faces some major disincentives. Without an oil law, which appears unlikely anytime soon because of political bickering, companies wanting to start work in Iraq must essentially lobby both the Iraqi parliament and the government, which rarely find consensus. Two of the biggest projects, gas fields in the provinces of Anbar and Diyala, sit in territory plagued by violence and tribal politics. And none of the ventures are likely to allow companies to have a stake in any newly discovered oil reserves, the real moneymaking prize. "These deals themselves are not likely...