It's a strange thing to say about anything that leads to brawls in parliament, angry demonstrations and fiery rhetoric from the Prime Minister. But the deal between the U.S. and Iraq over the future presence of American troops has unified Iraq in unexpected ways. Politicians agree that the U.S. military must withdraw, and soon--and while they disagree fiercely about whether the end of 2011 is soon enough, the debate has brought together some unlikely bedfellows. Sunni hard-liners joined Shi'ites loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in opposing the deal, while Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki won enthusiastic backing from Anbar province sheiks ordinarily...
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