Iraqi parliament votes on US troops

Source: Al Jazeera

Iraqi politicians have passed a resolution requiring the government to seek parliamentary permission before asking the UN to extend the mandate for US-led forces in Iraq.



The measure was approved on Tuesday and reflects a growing disenchantment with the US-backed government.



The Sadrist-drafted resolution passed with a vote of 85 to 59.


The members of parliament voted along party lines, with Sunnis joining the bloc loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shia leader, and another Shia party at odds with the leadership.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D40BB67B-8696-4EF8-BEFE-F4B029DEF4A5.htm

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Exclusive: Iraqi Lawmakers Pass Resolution That May Force End to Occupation
By Raed Jarrar and Joshua Holland, AlterNet
Posted on June 5, 2007, Printed on June 6, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/53230/

While most observers are focused on the U.S. Congress as it continues to issue new rubber stamps to legitimize Bush's permanent designs on Iraq, nationalists in the Iraqi parliament -- now representing a majority of the body -- continue to make progress toward bringing an end to their country's occupation.

The parliament today passed a binding resolution that will guarantee lawmakers an opportunity to block the extension of the U.N. mandate under which coalition troops now remain in Iraq when it comes up for renewal in December. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose cabinet is dominated by Iraqi separatists, may veto the measure.

The law requires the parliament's approval of any future extensions of the mandate, which have previously been made by Iraq's prime minister. It is an enormous development; lawmakers reached in Baghdad today said that they do in fact plan on blocking the extension of the coalition's mandate when it comes up for renewal six months from now.

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."

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

:evilgrin:

:crazy:

Major Iraq News CNNMSNBC Won't Report

"This is a story that should be on every front page in America. I dare you to find it in the mainstream media," writes Jerry Policoff in an e-mail to our small private mailing list this morning. Jerry adds:

If you read Truthout.org or Alternet or Think Progress you know that the Iraqi Parliament voted yesterday on a binding resolution that would allow them to order an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Here is just one paragraph:

…The parliament today passed a binding resolution that will guarantee lawmakers an opportunity to block the extension of the UN mandate under which coalition troops now remain in Iraq when it comes up for renewal in December. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose cabinet is dominated by Iraqi separatists, may veto the measure…

This seems like huge news, especially given all the coverage being given to Bush’s recently announced plans to remain in Iraq for 50 years. I just did a google news search and could not find a single article in the mainstream U.S. media that made more than passing reference to this vote in the Iraqi parliament.

There's another major story about a truly bipartisan effort to end the war in our own Congress, which I'll tell you about below the fold. You won't hear about this story on CNN or MSNBC. even though you should. Well, there IS a new missing pretty white girl and it IS Paris Hilton's third day in jail and lightning DID strike Rudy Guiliani's mike in the GOP debate last night (which made the deep-thinker MSNBC anchor Contessa Brewer giggle) ...

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http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/06/major_iraq_news.html