Al-Sadr party member does not object to federalism, but not for awhile

"Nasir al-Saadi, a member of the bloc loyal to the radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr, said he did not object to a mechanism for carving the country into regions. But he said that it would be a long time before the country was ready to do that and that it should not happen until the 'occupation' had ended."

Another Shiite party, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was currently "pushing . . . legislation that would provide a mechanism to carve Iraq into largely autonomous regions," but which "would not set that process in motion." This legislation, however, angered "some Sunni Arab lawmakers who say Shiites should first follow through on a promise to allow Parliament to re-examine the issue of federalism."

source
The New York Times. Shiites Push Laws to Define How to Divide Iraqi Regions. September 7, 2006.

related postings
[1] Pentagon and the Coalition support "decentralized control" of Iraq.
[2] Decentralizing Iraq: More perspectives.
[3] Crack Iraq (If it works for the Kurds . . .).

posted: saturday, september 9, 2006, 8:09 AM ET
update: saturday, september 9, 2006, 8:41 AM ET