Members of the Shiite Muslim al-Fadel Block announce their abstention from a vote on the US-Iraqi accord prior to a parliamentary debate in Baghdad. (AFP/Salam Faraj)From Yahoo News/AFP:
BAGHDAD (AFP) – Lawmakers loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr shouted down the Iraqi parliament's second reading on Wednesday of a military pact allowing US troops to remain in Iraq until the end of 2011.
The agreement, approved by the cabinet on Sunday, has been fiercely criticised by the Sadrists, who oppose any deal with the US "occupier" and have vowed to derail it with legislative manoeuvres and mass demonstrations.
On Wednesday, they managed to force an adjournment.
The accord would govern the more than 150,000 US troops in more than 400 bases across Iraq when their UN mandate expires on December 31, and will require them to withdraw from all cities and towns by the end of June 2009.
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My Comment: With provincial elections in January, all of Iraq's political parties are now positioning themselves for the vote. Expect more theatrics and politics .... but in the end this resolution is going to pass.