BAGHDAD, Iraq — In a chaotic session marred by shouting, finger-pointing and walkouts by Iraq’s top leaders, the new parliament failed Tuesday to choose a speaker -- an impasse that brought tensions to the surface and raised concerns about a government that still isn’t in place two months after landmark elections.
The National Assembly’s second meeting ever was certainly its stormiest -- marked by outbursts of anger and wrangling among Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish legislators. The session was first delayed for nearly three hours, then abruptly closed to the media, its live TV feed cut off.
