Iraq's Reconcilliation Plan

The rumors of an amnesty of all insurgents (terrorists) turns out to be just that, a rumor. In an article written by Joshua Partlow of the Washington Post, he states that PM al-Maliki was going to grant amnesty to those who had "carried weapons" but not to those who have committed crimes.

Earlier proposals suggested offering pardons to Iraqis who have attacked U.S. troops but not to those who attacked Iraqis, an idea the U.S. Senate strongly denounced. The new plan does not make that distinction, Iraqi officials said.

"It says that the government will issue an amnesty for all those who have not committed crimes against the people of Iraq and the friends of Iraq," said Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, an ethnic Kurd from President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. "Those who attack U.S. forces are not immune from legal consequences. An attack on Iraqi forces or multinational forces are seen legally . . . as the same thing from the perspective of the government."

This turns out to be the best of both situations. It is only fair to charge those responsible for the deaths of those who fought for your freedom.

The plan has about 20 central points, which include inviting human rights organizations to monitor Iraqi prisons and allowing certain members of Hussein's Baath Party who were removed from their jobs after the U.S. invasion to make a case for reinstatement, officials said. "Implementing it will be the real challenge," Saleh said.

Special correspondent K.I. Ibrahim contributed to this report.

Category: (Military) News and News.