Perspective: In Iraq, a parliament in disarray

Above: Friday's 'emergency' session of the National Assembly following Thursday's bombing was poorly attended.

BAGHDAD - The stunning breach in security at Baghdad's heavily guarded Green Zone last week killed one Sunni lawmaker and, in the aftermath, revealed an increasingly disoriented and dysfunctional Iraqi government.

Lawmakers met the day after a suicide bomber blew himself up in the cafeteria at the parliament building. Their meeting was intended to be an opportunity for solidarity and an act of defiance in the face of the threat to their institution and their personal safety.

But, rather, Friday's session, and the political finger-pointing over the weekend, painted a picture of disarray.

Many analysts say that Thursday's attack will only serve to further isolate the 275-member parliament from the people who elected it in December 2005. Already, the government is seen by many here to be too mired in sectarian bickering and personal animosities to operate as a functioning government.

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