Maliki's settlement offer

I don't know about this, but it's quite intriguing. (From the British TimesOnline)

THE Iraqi Government will announce a sweeping peace plan as early as Sunday in a last-ditch effort to end the Sunni insurgency that has taken the country to the brink of civil war.

The 28-point package for national reconciliation will offer Iraqi resistance groups inclusion in the political process and an amnesty for their prisoners if they renounce violence and lay down their arms, The Times can reveal.

The Government will promise a finite, UN-approved timeline for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq; a halt to US operations against insurgent strongholds; an end to human rights violations, including those by coalition troops; and compensation for victims of attacks by terrorists or Iraqi and coalition forces.....

The deal, which has been seen by The Times, aims to divide Iraqi insurgents from foreign fighters linked to al-Qaeda. It builds on months of secret talks involving Jalal al-Talabani, the Iraqi President, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador, and seven Sunni insurgent groups.

So, amnesty, a hard timetable for withdrawal, a halt to all US operations, and, cryptically, "an end to human rights violations, including those by coalition troops."

I find it hard to believe that such a deal would be offered without approval from the White House. Certainly Khalizad is involved, but "a halt to US operations" and a hard timetable for withdrawal? I'll be very curious to see how this develops and is presented against the current White House domestic political strategy.

(By the way, the US's "human rights violations" are a bargaining chip to be continued if they don't take the deal?)