BAGHDAD - Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political bloc announced its withdrawal from the government Wednesday, undermining efforts to seek reconciliation among the country's rival factions, and three bombings in Baghdad killed at least 70 people.[snip]
The White House on Wednesday downplayed the significance of the Accordance Front's leaving the government. Press secretary Tony Snow said that while it is important for all the political blocs to participate, reconciliation efforts are ongoing. He noted that Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi and the minister of defense, both Sunnis, remain in place.
"We're keeping an eye on the situation, but let's keep in mind that it is not a complete withdrawal from the political process," Snow said.
The Accordance Front has 44 of parliament's 275 seats. Its withdrawal from the 14-month-old government is the second such action by a faction of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's "national unity" coalition. Five Cabinet ministers loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr quit the government in April to protest al-Maliki's reluctance to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
Rafaa al-Issawi, a leading member of the Accordance Front, said at a news conference Wednesday that the Sunni bloc's six Cabinet ministers would submit their resignations later in the day.
Al-Issawi said the decision to pull out from the government followed what he called al-Maliki's failure to respond to the Accordance Front. It gave him seven days to meet its demands, and the ultimatum expired Wednesday.
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