Saturday, October 31, 2009

More Iraqis Trying To Move Beyond Sectarian Divide

U.S. Army paratroopers train in small-unit tactics at night on Camp Ramadi, Iraq, Oct. 26, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael J. MacLeod

From The L.A. Times:

After years of relative calm, many voters are keen to put divisions behind them. Political leaders oblige with several Sunni-Shiite blocs. But in north Iraq, Kurd-Arab tensions will test such efforts.

Reporting from Baghdad - On the podium of a sweltering hotel ballroom recently, Sunni tribal leader Ahmed abu Risha stood alongside Interior Minister Jawad Bolani, a Shiite. Next to Bolani was a prominent Sunni religious leader, who stood beside a well-known Shiite human rights campaigner.

So it went, as Sunni and Shiite Muslims lined up together to announce the birth of a new political movement, the Iraqi Unity Alliance, which will run in elections planned for January on a platform of, yes, unity.

Read more ....

My Comment: After many years of war, people are looking for peace. This is probably the first step of many in Iraq's political evolution to something more stable.

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