Real Progress

The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, pens an op-ed in today's Washington Post describing the oil revenue sharing law that the Iraqi government reached. He says it is a big step toward national reconciliation in Iraq.

Resolving concerns about control of oil is central to overcoming internal divisions in Iraq. The country has the third-largest oil reserves in the world, and more than 90 percent of federal income comes from oil revenue. The effective and equitable management of these resources is critical to economic growth as well as to developing a greater sense of shared purpose among Iraqi communities.

The goal of Iraq's leaders was to draft a law that ensured that all Iraqis could be confident they would receive their fair share of the benefits of developing the country's resources, that the revenue from oil and gas would enable a decentralization of power while maintaining national unity, and that Iraq would adopt the best international practices for the development and management of its mineral wealth. By these standards, the hydrocarbon law is a great success.

Political and economic progress is important to helping stabilize Iraq. Things like this are why we can't simply give up and walk away.