Moving Forward

Iraq moves forward with the process...  Anticipating the negative comments these actions will generate.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's president formally designated Shiite politician Jawad al-Maliki to form a new government, as the country's parliament met Saturday to launch a political process aimed at healing wounds among ethnic and religious communities and pulling the nation out of insurgency and sectarian strife.

The move ends months of political deadlock among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds which threatened to drag the nation into fullscale civil war. Al-Maliki has 30 days to present his Cabinet to parliament for approval.

Parliament elected President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, to a second term and gave the post of parliament speaker to Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab. Al-Mashhadani's two deputies were to be Khalid al-Attiyah, a Shiite, and Aref Tayfour, a Kurd.

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