As Cliff May points out at the Corner, the New York Times reported yesterday on Iraq’s adoption of a de-baathification law–a critical benchmark for progress on reconciliation:
The Iraqi Parliament passed a bill on Saturday that would allow some former officials from Saddam Hussein’s party to fill government positions but would impose a strict ban on others. The legislation is the first of the major so-called political benchmark measures to pass after months of American pressure for progress… President Bush, traveling in Kuwait and Bahrain on Saturday, praised the vote, calling it “an important step toward reconciliation…”
The New York Times also editorialized yesterday on the lack of progress toward reconciliation in Iraq:
Mr. Bush’s troop buildup was sold as a way to buy Iraqi politicians breathing room to finally address the tensions driving sectarian violence, including an equitable division of oil wealth and strategies to bring more Baathists and Sunnis into the Shiite-led government. Those goals have not been met, and the administration has virtually abandoned them.
Do the editors not read their own paper, or do they just not care?
