After Stating That The Power-Sharing Deal "Is Dead", Iraq's Main Sunni Backed Party Attends Parliament

U.S. Defends Dealings With Iraqis -- Washington Post

Vice President Biden made numerous calls to senior Iraqi leaders over the past several months and U.S. officials directly participated in top-level negotiating sessions that lasted until just moments before the Iraqi parliament finally convened Thursday to approve a new power-sharing government, a senior Obama administration official said Friday.

Hoping to rebut criticism that it had lost influence in Iraq and was too passive over the eight months since the March elections there, or that its efforts were designed to keep Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in power, the administration offered a detailed written account of previously unreported meetings, visits and calls that it said Biden and others had made.

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More News On Iraq's New Government

Sunni-backed bloc attends Iraqi parliament session -- Yahoo News/AP
Iraqi MPs salvage power-sharing pact after walk-out -- Yahoo News/AFP
Iraq's Maliki looks to repair power-sharing pact -- Yahoo News/AFP
On His First Day, Iraq’s Parliament Speaker Was Tested by Own Alliance -- New York Times
Iraq's great balancing act -- BBC
Iraq's new government -- Washington Post editorial
Analysis: Iraq's Sunnis have a weak hand in talks --Washington Post/AP
Iraq timeline: Key events since 2003 invasion -- Yahoo News/AP