Iraqi Parliament delays vote on foreign troops

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iraq's parliament speaker on Monday delayed a session to approve a resolution allowing British and other non-American troops to remain in Iraq until July 2009. Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani called for the delay after a group of lawmakers demanded his resignation on an unrelated issue. The lawmakers' refused to proceed with the session until their demands were considered. Al-Mashhadani threatened to resign last week, after he failed to bring under control a shouting match among legislators over an Iraq journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush. It remains unclear when Parliament will resume. If the resolution is not passed before a UN mandate expires on Dec. 31, those troops would have no legal ground to remain.