You'd never know it happened !

[Murffieus]

Yesterday Malick brought together the key shia, sunni, and Kurd leaders and announced that they have made an agreement on 3 key pieces of legislation----namely local elections and granting local provences more control over their affairs, freeing sunnis held without charge, and lifting restrictions on former Bathist members from serving in government and in the military.

Is peace at hand? Probably not as there has to be legislation passed to make these points law------but it certainly is a step in the right direction.

But oddly from the liberal network news media NO MENTION last night----Fox had it and the Public TV stations carried it---but no mention in the NBC evening news which I viewed or the other networks (per Investor Biz Daily).

The networks have gone from the "surge will fail" syndrome several months ago to reluctantly admitting the surge is indeed working, but the new line has been "but without political progress"----now political progress takes place and NO MENTION of such progress as it develops! The weather gets more priority than the progress that they have been complaining about at the TOP of their newscasts as not being forthcoming for years now------GO FIGURE!

Just another example----Please don't anyone tell me that the 3 network newscasts are not biased to the liberal/left-!----it's a case of if you're losing the argument----change the subject!

[mu_hilltopper]

ABC's news had the story on last night.  So there's one less liberal media outlet for you.

[Murffieus]

How far into the program did the story appear?

When there is a negative out of Iraq it's the headline (first thing mentioned on the newscast)-----here's a major positive and it's buried deep into the broadcast (treated as minor news)!

According to Investor Business Daily the story appeared on page 9 of the Washington Post----and not at all in the NY Times or the LA Times-----again, treated as minor news.

[ChicosBailBonds]

[mu_hilltopper]

The Gonzales resignation took up at least 5 minutes of their 10 minute news section on ABC, and rightly so.   I imagine the flooding news was next.  Indeed, they only spent a minute on the story, so it's apparent that they, like the others, don't believe this is particularly big news.

Now, you will certainly cry liberal media.  I'm guessing the reality of this event has more to do with it.

George Will commented Sunday that the Maliki "National Unity Government" isn't national, isn't unified, and isn't a government. -- When the Maliki government falls in the next couple months, which is apparently very likely, will you admit that this "unity statement" was just a inconsequential sound bite, made to puff-up Maliki's standing? 

[Murffieus]

Hilltopper ------So you're saying Gonzales takes up the first 15 minutes of a national newscast-----if so----that's what I would call piling on-----taking their pound of flesh----Clinton fires 8 US Attorneys and it's just another story-----GWB does it and it dominates the headlines along with Iraq for months!

Also you mean that Gonzales in addition to taking up the first 15 minutes of network newscasts----it also took up the entire first 8 pages of the Washington Post and ALL of the pages of the LA & NY Times papers? I don't think so!

You say that ABC doesn't think it's big news----no kidding -----they never do when things break for GWB!

[spiral97]

hrmmm.. I dunno about you but I read topper's post and saw "5 minutes" not "15 minutes".  *motions for optometrist.. gestures with head in Murf's general direction*

[mu_hilltopper]

Yup, 5 minutes, not 15.  About 3 minutes of news, 2 mins of political analysis on the story.

P.S. This story was on page 3 of the MJS. 

"Some key Sunni figures on Monday dismissed the agreement as a stalling tactic by al-Maliki to ease pressure from Washington.
 
"Our position is that this meeting represents a new phase of procrastination and does not honestly aim at solving the problems quickly," Khalaf al-Ilyan, a leader of the Sunni bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front, said.
 
"I think that no real or practical solution will come out of this."

[Murffieus]

Well the fact that someone doesn't supposedly think that anything will come of it is just one person's opinion----or is it? Putting a guilt trip on the other party who one is negotiating against is sometimes a very useful approach/tool in the art of negotiation!

This is the first formal agreement i have seen on these very imporatant issues amongst the 3 parties----if Malicky agreed to them, which he did----he's bound to push for them or he's a complete imbecile who will be out of a job-----I believe he is aware of the latter!