The Associated Press is reporting the Speaker is threatening to disband the Parliament. This would mean new elections would have to occur within 60 days to elect an entire new parliament.
The Speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, said that Parliament seems incapable of passing a new budget. The major roadblock as he sees it is that Kurdish members are demanding a guarantee of 17% of the national income to be paid to their provinces.
A simple majority of parliament members would have to approve the request in order to disband the body. Mahmoud al-Mashhadani claims to already have enough support.
No matter what the statistics about violent attacks say, it seems clear the surge is having no effect on the Iraqi government's ability to function. Their parliament simply has to find a way to accomplish the basic functions of government like agreeing on a budget. Our military can't do it for them. Beyond guarding the Parliament building while they squabble, what more can our troops do?