Elections Bill in Iraq Stalls On Kirkuk

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Dispute Persists Over Oil-Rich City in North
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/03/AR2008080300143.html?hpid=topnews

Iraqi lawmakers on Sunday failed to settle a dispute over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and pass a provincial elections bill viewed as vital for national reconciliation, despite intense pressure from the United States and the United Nations.

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On Sunday, President Bush telephoned Iraq's Shiite vice president, Adel Abdul Mahdi, as well as the Sunni speaker of parliament, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, according to statements from their offices. U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and U.N. special representative Staffan de Mistura met late Sunday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to find ways to dissolve the impasse.

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Several Iraqi lawmakers said U.S. pressure could throw Iraq into further political chaos.

"The Americans are pushing for the elections at any price, and that is incorrect," said Mahdi al-Hafidh, a Community Party lawmaker. "The country is not quiet, and there is not a good climate for this election."

"There's no way to find a solution to a 100-year-old problem in days," said Mahmoud Othman, an independent Kurdish legislator. "Mr. Bush is pressing the Iraqi politicians to make a fast deal, but this kind of pressure will have a negative result on Iraq's situation. We have to delay the election in Kirkuk to give the people on the ground more time to talk and the committees to discuss the situation and to build trust between the sects in Kirkuk."