As frustrating as the impasse has been, let's be grateful that Iraq is behaving more like America for the last several years (how long has it been since our Senate has passed a budget blueprint?) rather than China for a day to solve the problem of sharing oil revenue:
Iraq's Kurdistan is ready to restart negotiations with Baghdad to end their crisis, focusing on a long-delayed oil law to hand regions more say in managing energy resources, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Rosh Nuri al-Shawish, a Kurd, said.
The positive tone from Shawish signaled the Shi'ite-led central government and self-governed Kurdistan may be edging towards resolving their dispute over oil, territory and power-sharing that is straining Iraq's uneasy federal union.
Solving a problem with legislation? That's a victory all by itself. And hope for the future.