Iraqi politics in disarray as US pullout nears

February 13, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

UR, Iraq (AP) — With elections looming and the U.S. withdrawal of combat troops less than seven months away, political disarray is threatening Iraq’s future as well its past.

A parliamentary logjam is holding up legislation touching everything from prison staff, border crossings and counterterrorism troops to an archaeological excavation in dire need of tourists.

The January election that was supposed to clear the way forward has been delayed to March 7, and even if it is accepted as fair and inclusive, overcoming factional infighting and seating the new government “might really take some time,” the U.N. special envoy for Iraq, Ad Melkert, told The Associated Press.

Even the official start of the Iraqi campaign season, which began Friday, had been pushed back by more than a week as Shiites and Sunnis bickered over who was eligible to run.

Funding delays have stunted hiring at a model prison. Inaction on a counterterrorism law has cut the salaries of Iraqi special forces soldiers by $1,000 in danger pay as they struggle with a steady barrage of bombings.

And general dysfunction seems to be holding up $10 million the U.S. already has given to the Iraqi government for roads, electricity and water services at a checkpoint on the border with Iran.

The 5,000-year-old ruins of Ur, birthplace of Abraham, according to the Old Testament, are a vivid example of Iraq’s predicament.

The site, some 190 miles south of Baghdad, is launching a campaign to attract visitors after decades of being closed under Saddam Hussein’s rule, and about 200 French tourists are expected to visit in a few months. But money for fences, walkways and excavations won’t come until well after Iraq’s new government is seated.