A step in the right direction?...Part II

I suggested yesterday that the Iraqis selecting a parliment speaker was not as big a breakthrough as it might seem and that I was waiting to hear from Juan Cole. Well, Dr. Cole has spoken:

The Guardian reports that the Iraqi parliament finally decided on a Sunni Arab speaker, Hajem al-Hassani, on Sunday. Although this step does break the logjam to some extent, it is not exactly a huge breakthrough in and of itself. It is now forgotten that it was supposed to be a pro forma decision taken the very first time the parliament met. There is also some evidence that the selection of speaker has alienated the Sunni community rather than pleasing them.

If the parliament stays deadlocked very much longer, the intrepid Anthony Shadid reveals, there is serious talk among the grand ayatollahs in Najaf about bringing millions of protesters out into the streets to force the politicians' hands. (Actually the subtext here is that such massive Shiite protests would put pressure on the Kurds to give up some of their maximalist demands and come to a compromise. Such an ultimatum in the streets would be extremely dangerous, especially if it threw Kirkuk into chaos).

It would seem that Dr. Cole agrees that this is at best a baby step and a forced compromise.