Via Allah. The word “crucial” isn’t mine, but rather that of a well-known BushCo. puppet newspaper: The New York Times.

The three laws are the 2008 budget, a law outlining the scope of provincial powers — a crucial aspect of Iraq’s self-definition as a federal state — and an amnesty that will cover thousands of the detainees held in Iraqi jails. They were put to a vote as a single package and passed Wednesday afternoon…

Passage of the measures represent a significant achievement for the Iraqi Parliament, which on many days could not muster a quorum. The approach of voting on the three laws together broke the logjam because it allowed every group to boast that they had a win. Leaders of the blocs — Shiite, Sunni and Kurd — realized that while no one of the laws could pass on its own, together, they offered something for each political constituency. So factions would swallow the measures they liked less in order to get the one they wanted.

Meanwhile, Anbar is on schedule to be handed over to Iraqi control next month. U.S. military commanders, as well as Secretary of Defense Gates, have said it’s possible all provinces will be under Iraqi control by the end of the year, with the U.S. serving in a support role. But remember folks:

“I believe … that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything”

-Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), August 19, 2007