T U E S D A Y , J U L Y 0 5 , 2 0 0 5Iraq: Good News, Followed By Lots of BadNewsby Michael in New York on 7/05/2005 03:50:00 PMHere's the latest on the insurgency's effective attacks onMuslim diplomats.</p><p> They've kidnapped the Egyptian ambassadorand now attacked the reps of Bahrain and Pakistan.</p><p> Pakistaneven refers to the "deteriorating security conditions" in Iraq.Didn't they get Bush's talking points? Anyone who thinks thiswill undercut support for the insurgency on the fabled Arabstreet forgets the very obvious point that the corrupt leaders ofPakistan et al are hated by Arabs almost as much as they hatethe US.And the good news? The Shiites and Kurds continue to reachout to the Sunnis, most recently by agreeing to accept some15 Sunnis onto the committee overseeing the drafting of theConstitution.</p><p> This is significant since the Sunnis didn't"deserve" that membership since it boycotted the elections.</p><p> Butthe Shiites and Kurds realize they must include the Sunnis ifthere's to be any long-term hope for peace.</p><p> This comes on topof their tweaking of election procedures -- in the future,representatives will come from particular regions instead ofjust the top-vote getters nationally.</p><p> This means Sunnis will getroughly proportional representation in the governing body nomatter how many of them go to the polls.</p><p> Finally, the 15Sunnis were accepted even though some of them weresuspected of being Baathists.</p><p> Quite pragmatic, they've been.Mr.</p><p> Hamoudi, a prominent Shiite cleric, said thecommittee had decided it did not immediately matterthat the Sunnis had suspect political backgrounds.</p><p> Itwas more important to have the Sunni point of viewaired during the writing of the constitution, he said.He added that the committee had sent the 15 namesto a commission responsible for keeping seniorBaathists out of the government, but that thecommission had yet to reply."If we were talking about ministries, names might bemore important," Mr.</p><p> Hamoudi said at a newsconference. "But since it's a committee, having theviews is more important than the names."No matter how incompetent Bush has been in the execution of thiswar, no matter how deceptive the American people believe he's beenin getting us into the war, the Shiites and Kurds seem to be doingeverything they can in the worst possible situation to pull some goodout of this mess.</p><p> Ben SmithGoing small - My story tonight: President BarackObama came alive about 50 minutes intoWednesday night’s news conference – whensomebo6 minutes ago HuffPost PoliticsHuckabee's Huck Pac In Turmoil With StaffTurnover, Mounting Debts - Former Arkansas Gov.Mike Huckabee's political action committee, HuckPac, is undergoing a "restructuring," ExecutiveDirector Sarah Huckabee said Wednesday....20 minutes ago Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Today, srkp23(pulling a double shift), ybruti, taylormattd,ItsJessMe and vcmvo2 combed through hundredsof diaries to find this powerful list.</p><p> Today's...1 hour ago EschatonOvernight - Folk On.</p><p> Newish.1 hour ago Crooks and LiarsOpen Thread - Open Thread below...1 hour agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T V The Taco Bell dog hasdied In honor of SenatorDeMintNext 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Iraq: ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/iraq-good-news-followed... 1 of 57/23/09 1:27 AMVisit our AMERICAblog TV site.see all 323 videos >I collect with vodpod For the GOPers, healthcare is politics.</p><p> They just Traditional media has todebunk the birthers One small step...</p><p> The right-wing media, thevoices of the GOP, inAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Iraq: ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/iraq-good-news-followed... 2 of 57/23/09 1:27 AMThe TreatmentObama Has a Grown-UpTalk With America(Gulp)1 hour agoEzra KleinTab Dump5 hours agoWonk RoomSen.</p><p> Byron Dorgan:The ‘Trade’ InCap-And-Trade ‘MakesNo Sense To Me’7 hours agoHealth BeatTruth Squad: WallStreet Journal HealthCare Editorial Wrong onthe Facts . . .8 hours agoDaily DoseProviders Endorse 'Payfor Value' ProposalsG AY P O L I T I C S Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S Blog RSS AMERICAblog TV RSS Twitter RSSTwitter Feed Get the blog by email: Subscribe me! 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