Source:
Associated PressIraqi 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.
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Hmmm...they do seem to be able to get more done than OUR representatives.