A Rare Iraqi Accord

Common ground has been so hard to find between Iraq's Shi'ites and Sunnis that the U.S. will take accord wherever it can. Hence the strange sight of the White House applauding a new law that would help members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party get jobs and benefits that the U.S. had stripped from them in 2003. On Jan. 12, lawmakers in Baghdad passed legislation that would give midlevel bureaucrats who worked for the former regime a shot at government jobs, and Baathist retirees with a clean record a chance to collect pensions.

Passage of the measure marked a rare effort...

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