Iraq Cabinet Approves Oil Law Draft

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA

BAGHDAD – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Cabinet approved a draft oil law sought by the U.S. to boost reconciliation between Iraq’s Sunnis and Shiites and the Iraqi parliament planned to debate the measure Wednesday.

For months, Washington has pressed its ally al-Maliki to quickly pass the oil law and other pieces of legislation, considered vital to President Bush’s attempts to end Iraq’s turmoil – alongside a security crackdown by an increased U.S. military force.

But the law, which is to define the distribution of Iraq’s oil wealth, has been tied up in bickering among Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties in al-Maliki’s deeply divided ruling coalition, frustrating U.S. officials as American support for the war wanes.

The prime minister announced Tuesday that his Cabinet had unanimously approved the oil draft and that the parliament would begin discussing it the following day. He called the bill "the most important law in Iraq."

Twenty-four of the Cabinet’s 37 members were present for the vote; ministers from the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front and the Shiite Sadrist movement boycotted over separate political disputes with al-Maliki.

Still, despite the weakened coalition, the approval means parliament is likely to pass the measure. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Cabinet approval came after amendments prompted by the Accordance Front. He did not give details on the changes or the bill’s final version.

The issue of oil distribution is a top concern of Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority, which is centered in regions of the country with little oil resources and which fears Shiites and Kurds – who now dominate the government – would monopolize profits from the industry.

U.S. officials are hoping that passage of an oil bill will help rally Sunni support for the government and the political process and reduce backing for insurgents.

But Kurds, centered in an autonomous zone in the oil-rich north, rejected previous drafts, believing they did not guarantee them a fair share of revenues in northern oil fields they control or hope to control. Shiites, who control major southern oil resources, have been reluctant to share revenues with Sunnis, who dominated Saddam Hussein’s regime, which oppressed Shiites and Kurds.

Also Tuesday, Iraq’s parliament replaced Sunni Arab legislator Mishan al-Jabouri, who was accused of siphoning millions intended to pay for food for units created to protect oil pipelines.

His seat was filled by a member of the same tribe in Tikrit, Hussein Mohammed Abdullah al-Jabouri, a statement from parliament said.

Mishan al-Jabouri has denied the charges and left Iraq. He told The Associated Press in the Syrian capital of Damascus that the move to replace him "contradicts the constitution and the law."

Bush has pressed al-Maliki to take a series of political steps – opening jobs to Sunnis who supported Saddam, amending the constitution to satisfy Sunni aspirations and holding local elections – aimed at bringing Sunni Arabs into the political process. With support for the war dropping among Americans, the steps would also help convince the U.S. public and Congress that Iraqi leaders are doing what is needed to halt the violence.

The security crackdown, backed by 28,000 extra U.S. troops deployed in Iraq this year, has aimed to give a margin of stability to allow Iraqi politicians to pass the measures. The offensive in Baghdad and areas to the north and south has fueled a surge in American casualties – though bombings and other attacks appear to have fallen in the capital in recent days.

A U.S. military Kiowa attack helicopter was shot down by insurgents south of Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said in a statement. An Apache helicopter rescued the craft’s two pilots, who were lightly hurt, it said.

The military also said Tuesday that U.S. forces waged a large battle with gunmen near the western Sunni city of Ramadi over the weekend, in fighting that left 23 insurgents dead. The insurgents had massed on Donkey Island, a patch of land in a canal outside the city, and opened fire on U.S. troops, prompting the gunbattle Saturday. Troops found caches of weapons, explosives and suicide vests, the military said.

In Baghdad, an Iraqi army lieutenant colonel and an Interior Ministry intelligence officer were killed in separate drive-by shootings Tuesday, police said. A car bomb hit the convoy of an Iraqi police colonel in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing two passers-by and wounding 17, though the colonel survived, police in the city said.

And a detainee died of "apparent natural causes" Sunday at a hospital in a U.S. Army prison. The military did not identify the detainee but said the death remains under investigation.