Sadrist calls "for Iraq's parliament to be dissolved and new elections held immediately."

[ProSense]

Sadrist calls for new parliament in Iraq

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer
Tue Nov 13

BAGHDAD - A key ally of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called Tuesday for Iraq's parliament to be dissolved and new elections held immediately.

Bahaa al-Araji, a lawmaker from al-Sadr's 30-member bloc, told reporters in Baghdad that the parliament has "become a burden on the Iraqi people rather than an institution to solve their problems and offer services."

"The parliament has become a very weak institution because of the way the elections took place, especially in Anbar and Mosul and some other southern provinces. I call for revising the election law," al-Araji said.

<...>

Earlier this year, al-Sadr's followers pulled out of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Cabinet, to protest the Iraqi leader's reluctance to call for a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country. Sadrists also withdrew from the legislature's largest Shiite political grouping, the United Iraqi Alliance, but retained their seats in parliament.

Bahaa al-Araji is a prominent member of al-Sadr's bloc, and is also known for a militia he keeps in northwest Baghdad. Similar to al-Sadr's larger and better known Mahdi Army, al-Araji's group is accused of involvement in attacks on U.S. forces and the forced removal of Sunnis from neighborhoods in western Baghdad.

more

[sabra]

1. but Joe Lieberman said we have "turned the corner"

:sarcasm:

[rodeodance]

2. turning the corner into a brick wall