A new political accord between Iraq's main Sunni Arab, Shia and Kurdish leaders will not be enough to lure minority Sunni Arabs back into the government, the Sunni Arab vice president who signed it said on Monday.
Five political leaders announced the deal late on Sunday, agreeing measures to readmit former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to public life and the release of many detainees.
"What happened yesterday is a good achievement in the current confused political situation. It is an achievement that deserves to be supported," Tareq al-Hashemi, the Sunni Arab vice president, told reporters. Hashemi signed the agreement along with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia, and three other leading Shia and Kurdish political leaders.
But Hashemi said the Accordance Front, which groups three parties from the disaffected Sunni Arab minority, would not reverse its decision to quit the cabinet on August 1.
"Our previous experience with the government has not been encouraging, and we will not go back just because of promises, unless there are real and tangible reforms," he said. US Ambassador Ryan Crocker hailed the deal, which will give him at least some good news to deliver in two weeks when he and the top US general in Iraq, David Petraeus, report back to Washington in a pivotal moment for US policy.
"The statement released by the five leaders yesterday is a positive and encouraging message that the government is making all efforts to achieve benefits for Iraqi people," Crocker told a conference in Arabic on Monday. "I'm optimistic. I can see there is progress," said Crocker. The remarks were a significant change of tone for the diplomat, who said just a week ago that the government's progress was "extremely disappointing".
US officials have been suggesting for weeks that Petraeus would give a fairly upbeat assessment of security in Iraq since Washington sent 30,000 extra troops this year but that Crocker would have little progress to report on the political front. Experts question whether the five leaders who reached the deal have enough support to pass laws in parliament.