Iraqi politicians sought points of agreement as they bargained behind closed doors Monday in an attempt to establish a government. Rather than focusing on high principles and lofty goals, participants said the subject was numbers.
A Kurdish negotiating team, for example, met with a group of Sunni Arabs who were willing to join the government if they could have nine cabinet posts. Much of the discussion focused on whether this was a reasonable total and how it might be achieved, according to two participants, Saleh Mutlak, a Sunni Arab businessman, and Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurdish politician. Kurds are Sunni Muslims but are not Arabs.
|