Sunnis End Boycott Of Iraqi Parliament

Sunni legislators returned to Iraq's parliament July 20, after a five-week boycott, raising hopes the assembly can make progress on power sharing bills demanded by Washington before the lawmakers take a month's break. Nut the return of the Sunnis and the hard-line Shiite faction loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Mugtada al-Sadr could also signal problems for many of the bills, including the oil law, which is a top U.S. priority. The 44 members of the Iraqi Accordance Front attended the parliament session after striking a deal with the Shiites and Kurds to reinstate the Sunni speaker. Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who was ousted by the Shiite dominated assembly last month for erratic behavior.