Four months after Iraq impressed the world by holding successful
parliamentary elections, the country has become mired in a
political standoff. Neither Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki nor
challenger Ilya Allawi garnered enough votes for their
respective political parties to secure the parliamentary
majority required to form the new government. Months of
negotiating, infighting, and accusations have accomplished
little and involvement by the U.S., led by Vice President Joe
Biden, has been unable to break the stalemate. Ramadan begins on
August 11, when Baghdad and its political machinery will slow
down considerably, sapping the momentum for coalition-building.
Is Iraq, after surviving one of the worst civil wars in recent
history, facing a political deadlock that could compromise
everything? Or is the country nearing a political breakthrough?
• What Iraq Can't Resolve  Foreign Policy's Tom Ricks lists the
problems: "There is no agreement on how to share oil revenue, no
resolution of the basic relationship be