Sunni leader urges reconciliation in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president on Saturday called the return of his boycotting political bloc to the Shiite-led Cabinet a priority, saying the government needs to reconcile quickly to "save Iraq."

Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi's comments were the latest to signal readiness by the main Sunni bloc, the National Accordance Front, to rejoin the government after an absence of nearly nine months.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Friday he expected to present a new Cabinet list "within a few days" — a step that would be a boost to his government and seen by Washington, D.C., as a significant step forward.

But while the two sides have said they were prepared to join forces for more than a week, power struggles within the National Accordance Front have delayed a formal announcement, according to a Sunni official familiar with the negotiations.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said disagreements were focused on who should hold which posts.

The Planning Ministry is headed by Ali Baban, who was expelled by the bloc after he broke ranks and agreed to return to his post. Some Front members want to take another ministry portfolio instead of being forced to accept Baban back into the fold, the official said.

Al-Hashemi's support for a return to the government, which was announced by his office, was significant.

The Sunni leader has been one of al-Maliki's most bitter critics, accusing him of sectarian favoritism, while the prime minister has complained that the vice president is blocking key legislation.

But al-Hashemi and other Sunni leaders apparently have been swayed by al-Maliki's crackdown against Shiite militias that began late last month and focused on the feared Mahdi Army of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Maliki also has threatened to politically isolate al-Sadr if the Mahdi Army is not disbanded.