For months, sectarian acrimony in the Iraqi parliament has stalled passage of an oil law — a crucial “benchmark” for national unity. That’s been especially distressing to U.S. officials, who frequently invoke the oil law’s potential for fostering national unity. One of its chief proponents, former U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, wrote in a valedictory March op-ed that the measure represents “the first time since 2003 that all major Iraqi communities have come together on a defining piece of legislation.”
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=180601