For 1st Time, Majority Of Iraq's Parliament Rejects Occupation - U.S. Media Ignores It

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/51624

Majority of Iraqi Lawmakers Now Reject Occupation

By Raed Jarrar and Joshua Holland, AlterNet. Posted May 9, 2007.

More than half of the members of Iraq's parliament rejected for the first time on Tuesday the continuing occupation of their country. The U.S. media ignored the story. On Tuesday, without note in the U.S. media, more than half of the members of Iraq's parliament rejected the continuing occupation of their country. 144 lawmakers signed onto a legislative petition calling on the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal, according to Nassar Al-Rubaie, a spokesman for the Al Sadr movement, the nationalist Shia group that sponsored the petition.

It's a hugely significant development. Lawmakers demanding an end to the occupation now have the upper hand in the Iraqi legislature for the first time; previous attempts at a similar resolution fell just short of the 138 votes needed to pass (there are 275 members of the Iraqi parliament, but many have fled the country's civil conflict, and at times it's been difficult to arrive at a quorum).

Reached by phone in Baghdad on Tuesday, Al-Rubaie said that he would present the petition, which is nonbinding, to the speaker of the Iraqi parliament and demand that a binding measure be put to a vote. Under Iraqi law, the speaker must present a resolution that's called for by a majority of lawmakers, but there are significant loopholes and what will happen next is unclear.

What is clear is that while the U.S. Congress dickers over timelines and benchmarks, Baghdad faces a major political showdown of its own. The major schism in Iraqi politics is not between Sunni and Shia or supporters of the Iraqi government and "anti-government forces," nor is it a clash of "moderates" against "radicals"; the defining battle for Iraq at the political level today is between nationalists trying to hold the Iraqi state together and separatists backed, so far, by the United States and Britain.

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That and the stalled legislation that gives Big Oil control of Iraq's oil...

:shrug:

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/09/iraqis-call-for-timetable

but they are referring to the Alternet report. Alternet is pretty good. I don't have any reason to doubt them.

I had only heard about one previous vote about two years ago that garnered 111(?) votes in Parliment, appearently there have been more.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, not a peep from the corporate media.

again

K&R

...instead of FOUGHT FOR.

This is big news.

ohhh silly me, ...our media is showing us the important stuff..like 24/7 Paris Hilton, and American %%$#$ Idol!!!!!!!!


fly

"If the U.S. is ultimately leaving Iraq, why is the military building 'permanent' bases?"

http://www.fcnl.org/iraq/bases.htm

This little weblink got the Quakers spied upon by the NSA, and then when combined with Bush's own words from June 2005

'As Iraqis Stand Up, We Will Stand Down,' Bush Tells Nation

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=16277

you can only conclude that the President is a confirmed liar. What do we do when the Iraqis find out about this ? Oh, they already seem to have an inkling, since polls show:,

"A September 2006 poll of both Sunnis and Shias found that 71% of Iraqis wanted the U.S. to leave within a year, with 65% favoring an immediate pullout and 77% voicing suspicion that the U.S. wanted to keep permanent bases in Iraq.<23> 61% approved of attacks on U.S. forces.<24>"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_insurgency#Analysis_and_polls

This all begs the question, 'are Republicans nuts to continue supporting this occupation of Iraq ?' The rest of the country is deciding that that conclusion is entirely plausible.

our kids will be there protecting our oil companies until every drop of oil is squeezed out of the desert there!!

didn't you know..that's "our oil"?????????
little mr pissy pants oil for his oil boys!!

and the blood of our kids will be spilled for it!!

and the blood of innocent Iraqi's will be spilled for it!!

fly

"It's all part of a growing ongoing investigation into corruption in defense and intelligence contracts, which already has sent former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham to prison and, legal sources say, may threaten others in Congress and the CIA. "

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12634250/

Obstructions of justice to prevent public knowledge of the extent of the CIA/GOP/moneyspigot and election frauds. The Octopus needs to be exposed and resisted. The complicit media can't do it. Guys like Gary Webb and Danny Casolaro tried ... others will spring up.

Them to go away.

I thought it significant that nine of the ten Republican candidates seemed to think that the PResident is above and beyond the will of the people (the exception being Ron Paul)

The emdium on which we cast our ballot - if the electronic machinery is still in place,
our votes will once again be switched

537 articles about Paris Hilton
http://news.google.com/nwshp?ned=us&ncl=1116137475&hl=en

There's that liberal media again. :sarcasm:

resposibility for their own affairs and the Iraqis ARE GOING TO kick Schtick and Dick out of their country.

:woohoo:

The sooner Iraqis can seat representatives the sooner they will demand we leave. It sounds like about half of 'em have their heads screwed on right. Time to leave, we're done!

Agreed - it's time to start withdrawal. Help with aid, not arms.

Democracy.

What, is bushco not gonna listen to the folks who legally represent the Iraqi people? After all our soldiers have died to raise it from the ashes of the bushco shock and awe?

Why, that would be a crime!

We will always be at war with Oceania

why did Cheney go to Iraq?

that would go against their Fearless Leader! He don't read no stinking papers!

as alluded to in Greg Palast's most recent email, means the M$M will HAVE TO start telling the truth soon. The stench of their past going alongs to get alongs, see YouTube's 'What's So Funny' about the WH Press Dinner WMD skit,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0TnqUlB4Gg

These media dicks need to take a good long bath to wash this off.

"the defining battle for Iraq at the political level today is between nationalists trying to hold the Iraqi state together and separatists backed, so far, by the United States and Britain."