MATT SANCHEZ REPORTS FROM RAMADI. There’s been a lot of independent reporting from Iraq lately — scroll down for a number of posts over the last couple of days.

THIS SEEMS LIKE GOOD NEWS:

Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, and fellow leaders in the country have reached consensus on key areas of national reconciliation, under mounting US pressure to demonstrate political progress on the eve of a key report to Congress on the Baghdad security “surge”.

The Shia prime minister appeared on television flanked by Jalal Talabani, the country’s Kurdish president, and the Sunni vice-president, Tareq al-Hashemi, to announce a deal on easing restrictions on former members of the Ba’ath party joining the civil service and military.

Easing de-Ba’athification laws passed after the 2003 US invasion has long been seen as a vital step if disenchanted Sunnis, who formed the backbone of Saddam Hussein’s regime and, since its fall, of the insurgency, are to be persuaded to take part in Iraqi political life.

(Via ATC, which has some further thoughts ). Maliki’s not happy with Hillary, though: “In separate comments, Mr Maliki lashed out at his detractors with invective that focused on the Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.”

RUDY GIULIANI ON TAXES. “I’ve seen how pro-growth policies lead to broader prosperity. We’ll not only keep the current tax cuts in place or their equivalent, we’ll enact additional tax relief and give the Death Tax the death penalty. High tax rates hurt business and destroy jobs. I know that tax cuts are good for the economy. It’s not just theory for me because I cut taxes and got results as Mayor of New York City. As President, I will cut taxes further.”

HMM: “Ten people were arrested and will be charged soon in connection with the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian chief prosecutor said Monday. . . . Politkovskaya, a critic of Putin who exposed human rights abuses in Chechnya, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building in October.” I hope that justice is done, but . . . .