"103 members of the [ 275-member] National Assembly (the Parliament) have demanded the adoption of a resolution cancelling the request made by the Government to the UN Security Council to extend the presence of multinational forces, and urging the Government to put ‘a clear plan for army building and a timetable for the withdrawal of occupation troops’ from Iraq," reports Juan Cole.

Falah Hassan Shneishel MP (of the ‘Independent National Bloc’) [the INB is the parliamentary bloc of Muqtada al-Sadr’s Current, which plays a prominent role in the organization of the political fight against the occupation]...threatened to call for popular demonstrations in case ‘the authorities were not serious about the implementation of the demands of the Iraqis for an end to occupation.’"