Free Republic

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Kurdish and Shiite politicians said Thursday they made headway in solving new disagreements in their deal to form a coalition government, nearly seven weeks after Iraqis took to the polls, but it remained unclear when that new government would be announced. The talks came after Iraqi legislators were sworn in Wednesday as members of the 275-seat National Assembly, vowing to uphold freedom and democracy two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). Many of the new deputies wore traditional robes trimmed in gold, and mingled with austere Shiite clerics in black robes and...

Even the bombs couldn't spoil this day By Boris Johnson (Filed: 17/03/2005) Baghdad Bombs? I said. What bombs? I heard no bombs. I don't mean to affect any false war correspondent-style nonchalance, but when they mortar-bombed our meeting yesterday, I simply did not notice. Had you told me that four shells had landed only 100 metres away, scattering shrapnel, I expect I would have hurled myself to the floor like any other self-respecting MP, a species widely credited with a cockroach-like instinct for survival. Had the crump not been drowned out by other noises in the room, I would certainly...

Just announced...breaking

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq puts its fragile democracy to the test Wednesday, convening its first freely elected National Assembly in recent history after last-minute bargaining over Sunni Arab candidates to head the parliament. Car bombings killed five Iraqi civilians and one American soldier. Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition came under pressure as Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi announced Tuesday that his country's 3,000 troops would begin leaving as the Iraqis slowly take control, a move that could complicate efforts to keep the peace. Shiite Muslim officials said they failed to reach final agreement in talks with the Kurds _ who are...

The first session of Iraq’s new parliament ended today. The largely symbolic ceremony began with readings from the Qu’ran and came to a close with the swearing-in ceremony for all 275 new members, the first Iraqi lawmakers to be democratically elected in 50 years. The event was marred however by a mortar attack, which rattled windows but caused no damage or casualties. Unfazed, Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, a candidate for a ministerial post, was upbeat. In his view, the fact that parliament has convened at all can be counted as a success. “We are part of history,” he said. “This assembly...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq's first freely elected parliament in half a century began its opening session Wednesday after a series of explosions targeted the gathering. President Bush called the session a ``bright moment'' for Iraq, but added there was no timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops. The parliament's 275 members, elected during Jan. 30 balloting, convened in an auditorium amid tight security in the heavily guarded Green Zone with U.S. helicopter gunships hovering overhead. -snip- Minutes before the assembly convened, at least a half-dozen explosions detonated a few hundred yards away. The U.S. military said two mortar rounds landed inside...