BAGHDAD, January 15, SPA -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a surprise trip to Iraq, said Tuesday that national reconciliation has moved along «quite remarkably,» citing a new law that allows thousands of former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to reclaim government jobs orpensions. Rice, who split off from President Bush's Mideast tour,said the Iraqi parliament's approval of the U.S.-soughtbenchmark law Saturday was a first step and showed thatlast year's «surge» of American forces was payingdividends, according to a report of the Associated Press.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/517853