that Iraqi Speaker that just resigned, praises shoe thrower

[ensho]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/24/world/main4685774.shtml?tag=main_home_storiesBySection


Iraqi Ex-Speaker Praises Shoe-Thrower
Newly resigned Parliament Speaker Calls Journalist Who Threw Shoes At Bush "Brave"


The newly resigned Iraqi parliament speaker on Wednesday praised the journalist who threw shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush and said the legislature should have supported him.

In central Iraq, the U.S. military says three soldiers were killed in a vehicle accident. The brief statement gave no further details.

Mahmoud al-Mashhadani's comments came a day after he resigned under heavy pressure from Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers, breaking an impasse that would allow foreign troops, including British forces, to stay in Iraq past Dec. 31.

"He was a zealous, brave journalist and even his enemy Bush said he is brave - only the parliament did not say that he is brave," said al-Mashhadani, who is Sunni. "This is a clear fault. It shouldn't be like that."

The abrasive speaker had frequently quarreled with lawmakers, but tensions came to a head last week during a shouting match over the detention of journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi.
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3 more dead