Iraqi parliament wants say in extension of US-led forces

[yurbud]

Source: Associated Press

Iraqi legislators led by followers of a radical Shi'ite cleric passed a resolution Tuesday requiring the government to seek parliamentary permission for asking the United Nations to extend the mandate of US-led forces in Iraq.

The measure was approved along party lines, with Sunnis joining the bloc loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr and another disaffected Shi'ite party to support it, and Shi'ite and Kurdish backers of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government in opposition.

The UN mandate for foreign forces in Iraq has been extended for a year through Dec. 31 at al-Maliki's request, so the parliamentary action was not expected to have any immediate effect. But it reflected growing disenchantment with the US-backed government as Iraq's fractured parties jockey for power amid calls for US forces to withdraw.

"If the government wants to extend the presence of the multinational forces, it has to come to us in the parliament to convince us first," said the Sunni parliament speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.

Read more: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1180960615762&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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Hmmm...they do seem to be able to get more done than OUR representatives.

[yurbud]

1. from related Alternet article: renewal must have timetable for withdrawal

Reached today by phone in Baghdad, Nassar al Rubaie, the head of Al-Sadr bloc in Iraq's Council of Representatives, said, "This new binding resolution will prevent the government from renewing the U.N. mandate without the parliament's permission. They'll need to come back to us by the end of the year, and we will definitely refuse to extend the U.N. mandate without conditions." Rubaie added: "There will be no such a thing as a blank check for renewing the U.N. mandate anymore, any renewal will be attached to a timetable for a complete withdrawal."

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/53230/

[orleans]

2. note to iraqi government: you want us there for the next THIRTY YEARS

STEALING YOUR FUCKING OIL? you'd better get your shit together & get us the fuck out quick!