A Little Known Fact..

There is no denying the division in America. There is also no denying the problems in Iraq. Americans used to look to the national media to keep us informed of things that were happening so we could make informed decisions. Those days are gone.

The opponents of the current strategy in Iraq probably didn't see or hear about the following, as it was buried in a story about death and destruction in Iraq. Did you know:

Meanwhile, a small Sunni Arab bloc ended its parliamentary boycott Saturday, returning to the legislature as it considers key benchmark legislation demanded by Washington amid increasing pressure to end the political deadlock.

The return of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front ends the last boycott of parliament, which had contributed to the political paralysis.

The party returned in part because parliament granted its demand that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki be summoned for questioning by lawmakers about the security situation in Iraq.

"We need a liberal government, we need a secular government. Without such a government the violence will continue," party head Saleh al-Mutlaq said from Jordan on Al-Jazeera television.

Al-Mutlaq said he considered a recent decrease in violence a "temporary improvement."

"The violence will grow again, as people will lose hope if nothing changes on the political side," he said. "There was a big failure on the political side ... without reconciliation the violence will not stop."
...
Though sectarian violence has been down in recent weeks, the attacks reinforced the obstacles to U.S. goals ahead of a report to Congress by the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker. The two are to attending hearings starting Monday on progress in Iraq since the introduction of 30,000 more American troops, including whether advances are being made toward national reconciliation.

Parliament reconvened Tuesday after a monthlong summer break but has not yet taken up any of the key benchmark legislation because competing factions have still not been able to hash out compromises.

Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish leaders agreed in principle on some of the 18 issues that the U.S. has set as benchmarks for progress. Among them were holding provincial elections, releasing prisoners held without charge and changing the law preventing many former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from holding government jobs and elected office.

The so-called de-Baathification draft law appears to be the closest to being ready.

"We will receive it today or tomorrow and then it will be put forward in parliament for discussion this week," deputy parliament speaker Khaled al-Attiyah told The Associated Press by telephone.

Al-Attiyah did not say how long he expects the discussion to last or whether it will be approved.

But he has previously said he did not expect to parliament to begin discussing another key draft law — on oil revenue sharing — before mid-September.

The headline of this wonderful news (buried in the chaos of Iraq story) is "Bombing in Baghdad's Sadr City kills 12".

What a world.