8-9-2012 SWFloridaGuy: I believe the 9-point Erbil letter lacked tenability overall and that is the reason why those demands were not met. Parts were just too idealistic and vague. Such as "reviving the role of parliament," "maintaining democracy," "concerns regarding the electoral commission," "dictatorial tendencies," etc. Perhaps, with this new reform proposal, they have now presented a more attainable goal or just enough to satisfy Maliki's opposition where power sharing is concerned. We know a compromise is also what Talabani wants and it's my opinion there's a deal in the works right now. I think up to this point, the National Meeting adjournment has been due to Maliki fighting for control over the finalized details of the compromise they are trying to reach. In the press we have seen many articles about withdrawing the confidence from the Prime Minister but reform seems to be what the real goal is. It seems the only way for them to accomplish this has been to move forward with the questioning and force his hand. Maliki has been very stubborn up to this point and seems to be able to match every move they make. When his opposition moved to question him, he countered with a formal request to question the performance of Speaker Nujayfi. He even made allegations against him, claiming constitutional infractions and interference in that Exxon Mobil issue. Maliki has never chose to compromise but I think he's now been forced to in order to avoid his questioning before Parliament. Unless Maliki embraces a broad-based discussion with all factions regarding power sharing (which I think he finally has), his opposition will proceed with his removal. But no longer do they appear to be headed in that direction. I think the next step is an announcement of the National Meeting, which is a great sign for us. Talabani has been calling for a National Meeting and it appears upon his return that is what we will see. Like everyone else though, I prefer to see less talk, more action and just hope for the best. These are just my opinions, which may or may not be correct.