Iraq: Baghdad Calmer, but Politics Not

An Iraqi policeman stands at the site where a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives-packed Mercedes near a row of stores in the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007. The blast killed at least 15 people, police and hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

The White House applauded a promise by some Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite leaders to work toward some "benchmark" legislation supported by Washington, including a plan to share Iraq's oil wealth.

But Sunni politicians have yanked their support for the embattled government of al-Maliki. Without full Sunni participation, there can be no broad public backing for any reforms.

Sunni politicians believe the Shiite religious parties that now dominate the government have little interest in meaningful accommodation and have tacitly allowed Shiite militias to drive Sunnis from their homes to solidify Shiite control of the capital.

In turn, Shiites believe many Sunnis will never give up violence until they regain the power they once enjoyed under Saddam Hussein.

While politicians squabble in Baghdad, much of the Shiite south _ with 30 percent of the population and most of the oil wealth _ has fallen under the influence of Shiite militias, some with close ties to Shiite-dominated Iran.

With the national government in deadlock, U.S. officials have begun encouraging reconciliation at the local level. The model is Anbar, the vast Sunni province where tribal sheiks turned against al-Qaida in Iraq and sought cooperation with the Americans.

The Sunni revolt against al-Qaida led to a dramatic improvement in security in Anbar cities such as Fallujah and Ramadi. Iraqis who had been sitting on the sidelines _ or planting roadside bombs to kill Americans _ have now joined with U.S. forces to hunt down al-Qaida in Iraq, whose links to Osama bin Laden's terror network are unclear.

Still, Anbar is not secure, accounting for 18 percent of the U.S. deaths in Iraq so far this year _ making it the second deadliest province after Baghdad. Four Marines were killed in Anbar on Thursday.

Nonetheless, U.S. officials now speak of exporting the "Anbar model" elsewhere, including the Shiite heartland of the south, where militias hold sway.

The U.S. has been anxious to recruit tribal fighters to compensate for the weakness in the Iraqi army and police _ both infiltrated by Shiite militias and Sunni militants.

"I don't expect any improvement in the deteriorating security situation in Iraq as long as political rivalries and militias are the main factors that govern Iraq," said Farhan Ahmed al-Khalidi, a 33-year-old Shiite. "Iraq will remain unstable."