Iraq again - of course

This was a headline story on the BBC TV news this morning, but seems to have been buried by CNN, the BBC, and Fox.

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Iraq's largest Sunni political bloc announced it was withdrawing from the coalition government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite, because of his failure to meet their demands.

The Iraqi Accord Front, which has 44 members of parliament, threatened last week to remove its six ministers from the cabinet.

The front has been critical of legislative stalemates and the failure to achieve national reconciliation.

Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi -- a leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party, the most powerful group in the Accord Front -- and five other Sunni ministers said they would submit their resignations Wednesday.

One of the goals for Iraq's government is national reconciliation, but that has been an elusive vision in the fractious government. Under the Saddam Hussein regime, the Sunni minority held sway, with Kurds and Shiites marginalized. (Posted 6:14 a.m.)

The list of demands - which I can't find now - actually sounded reasonable. To me, this is just another indication that a united Iraq or an Iraq under a strong centralized government is a flawed premise. Despite whatever supposed positive results "The Surge" is having, this will not result in anything permanent.

Think about it this way. Even if Iraq were in a state of total peace would they be able to arrive at a political solution? The answer, based on today's actions is an emphatic no.