# Iraq Parliament backs bill to demand troop withdrawal **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 11, 2007, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641 "2007-05-11T02:56:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/1 "2007-05-11T02:56:01Z")
[Iraq Bill Demands U.S. Troop Withdraw](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271210,00.html) > [@](#): > > A majority of Iraqi lawmakers have endorsed a bill calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops and demanding a freeze on the number of foreign troops already in the country, lawmakers said Thursday. > > The legislation was being debated even as U.S. lawmakers were locked in a dispute with the White House over their call to start reducing the size of the U.S. force here in the coming months. > > The Iraqi bill, drafted by a parliamentary bloc loyal to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, was signed by 144 members of the 275-member house, according to Nassar al-Rubaie, the leader of the Sadrist bloc. If the Iraqi parliament votes to ask American troops to withdraw, should we honor it and withdraw as soon as is possible? Or can Bush continue the occupation against the wishes of a sovereign nation? ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/2 "2007-05-11T03:07:42Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] [Iraq Bill Demands U.S. Troop Withdraw](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271210,00.html)If the Iraqi parliament votes to ask American troops to withdraw, should we honor it and withdraw as soon as is possible? Or can Bush continue the occupation against the wishes of a sovereign nation? [/QUOTE] He has said that if the Iraq government asks us to leave we will leave. And, of course, he is a man of honor and will stand by his word. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/3 "2007-05-11T03:10:00Z")
How is this government supposed to work, though? Is a Parliamentary resolution passed by majority vote instantly law, or does it need to be signed by the executive branch? ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/4 "2007-05-11T03:13:03Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] If the Iraqi parliament votes to ask American troops to withdraw, should we honor it and withdraw as soon as is possible? [/quote] No. We should’ve left a long time ago for a laundry list of other reasons that have been gone over again and again. This, by itself, is a decent reason and can supplement the fact that a supermajority of the Iraqi population wants us out. I don’t see why the basic justification of ignoring the Iraqi people won’t work for the Iraqi government. It’ll just require another hoop or two. That, or no hoops will be needed. It may not even enter the realm of knowledge if the MSM plays their role correctly. > [@](#): > > Or can Bush continue the occupation against the wishes of a sovereign nation? Can he? Of course. IIRC the majority of the Iraqi population turned against the occupation circa spring of 2004. So that’s about three years he’s been doing it. The Iraqi government can’t stop it. The Iraqi people, despite their efforts so far, can’t stop it (although it’s only a matter of time on that front). The U.S. Congress has no interest in stopping it. The American population doesn’t seem particularly interested in it – they seem to express about as much outrage as over the latest white girl is missing story. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/5 "2007-05-11T03:15:06Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] He has said that if the Iraq government asks us to leave we will leave. And, of course, he is a man of honor and will stand by his word. [/QUOTE] Do I detect a note of sarcasm? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/6 "2007-05-11T03:25:44Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] If the Iraqi parliament votes to ask American troops to withdraw, should we honor it and withdraw as soon as is possible? [/QUOTE] And give in to the extremists? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/7 "2007-05-11T03:33:22Z")
We would happily surrender to the moderates, but they’re all dead. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/8 "2007-05-11T03:34:02Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] [Iraq Bill Demands U.S. Troop Withdraw](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271210,00.html)If the Iraqi parliament votes to ask American troops to withdraw, should we honor it and withdraw as soon as is possible? Or can Bush continue the occupation against the wishes of a sovereign nation? [/QUOTE] Yes, we should honor the request. There comes a time when a state has a right to commit suicide if they are that insistent about it. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/9 "2007-05-11T03:47:42Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] How is this government supposed to work, though? Is a Parliamentary resolution passed by majority vote instantly law, or does it need to be signed by the executive branch? [/QUOTE] Wikipedia appears to have the full text of the constitution, [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Iraq#Chapter_Four:_Powers_of_the_Federal_Authorities) The word ‘veto’ does not appear within it. However: > [@](#): > > The text of the proposed constitution was read to the National Assembly on Sunday 28 August 2005. It describes the state as a “democratic, federal, representative republic” (art. 1) (however, the division of powers is to be deferred until the first parliament convenes), and a “multiethnic, multi-religious and multi-sect country” (art. 3). I don’t think they’ve gotten around to clarifying that yet. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/10 "2007-05-11T05:11:53Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Do I detect a note of sarcasm? [/QUOTE] A note? Or a bar? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/11 "2007-05-11T06:03:54Z")
More like a leitmotif. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/12 "2007-05-11T06:24:59Z")
Is that the one where the fat lady wears armor and screams? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iraq-parliament-backs-bill-to-demand-troop-withdrawal/403641/13 "2007-05-11T07:37:33Z")
[QUOTE=Martin Hyde] Yes, we should honor the request. There comes a time when a state has a right to commit suicide if they are that insistent about it. [/QUOTE] There has to **be** a state for that to happen; Iraq was destroyed as a state by us years ago. I expect their motivation is not to “commit suicide” as a state, but to build one. They can’t possibly build a new Iraq as long as we are there.