Parliament’s session adjourned after heated argument between FM, lawmakers

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mahmoud al-Mashhadani on Wednesday decided to adjourn today’s session until Thursday after heated arguments between Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and lawmakers on the U.S. troops withdrawal agreement, a media source said. “Al-Mashhadani decided to postpone the session for an hour but a number of lawmakers left the building the matter forced him to adjourn the session until tomorrow,” the source told IraqiNews.com. Zebari attended the session to respond to lawmakers’ questions on the agreement. The Iraqi cabinet endorsed the controversial pact, also known as the status-of-forces agreement (SOFA), by an overwhelming majority of 27 votes to 1. The Iraqi and U.S. sides have been negotiating a long-term security deal during the past months. The pact should determine the legal framework for the U.S. presence in Iraq after the end of this year, when the international mandate granted by the UN Security Council to the U.S. army to intervene in Iraq is due to expire. SH (P) 1