You realize this means no one gets amnesty, right?
Iraq to Offer Amnesty, but No Killers Need Apply
By IAN FISHER and SOMINI SENGUPTA
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 3 - A delayed plan to offer amnesty to Iraqi insurgents moved forward on Tuesday, but objections raised by American officials and Iraqi communal leaders have reduced the amnesty's scope, meaning that those who killed either Americans or Iraqis will not qualify.
Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih announced that the plan, floated a month ago by the new government, would be passed by the new cabinet in a few days. The final amnesty, he said, will extend only to people who indirectly assisted the insurgency "in the killing," and not, he suggested, to the killers themselves.
What that will mean in practice and whether the decision to forgive only one sliver of the insurgency will actually tamp down the violence are not yet clear.
The evolution of the law reflects the curious nature of ruling Iraq: there are domestic political considerations to weigh, but the Americans wield influence behind the scenes.
Behind the scenes?
It's obvious we're not going to get a direct description of the situation until Bush goes home for good.
Unless, of course, you read political cartoons:
