Can Iraqi Pols Make a Deal?
A nervous Bush administration wades deeper into Iraqi politics to try to break a dangerous stalemate
More delays. U.S. officials hope the agreements will make the political horse-trading less of a zero-sum game for the political parties. But so far, there appears to be little progress on the negotiations. Indeed, Rice had barely returned home before Shiite leaders delayed convening the parliament again. Still, the alliance of Shiite religious parties that originally nominated Jafari has been roiled by a growing number of defectors calling for a different candidate. "Anything that reduces the specter of the Shiite community to the Sunni side can be a useful tool, "says a State Department official.
For several weeks, U.S. officials have been warning that the current political vacuum is only aggravating the risk of sectarian conflict and even possibly civil war. But Wayne White, who ran the State Department's Iraq intelligence unit from 2003 to 2005, worries that officials are creating "a false expectation" that a new government will bring stability. "The violence is endemic and related to the sectarian tension in the society rather than the government not being formed," he says. "Under the current circumstances, I cannot imagine finding anyone who can end the violence."
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