iraqi delegates meet in historic assembly

msnbc reports this morning on yesterday's historic opening of the iraqi assembly

The lawmakers opened with a reading of verses from the Quran. Iraqi Chief Justice Medhat al Mahmoud then administered the oath to the assembled deputies.

“It is a great day in Iraqi history that its elected representatives meet,” said Fuad Masoum, a Kurdish delegate. “This day coincides with a painful memory that has many meanings. ... Today, on this occasion, we celebrate the inauguration of parliament after the fall of this regime.”

Wednesday marked the anniversary of the Saddam Hussein-ordered chemical attack in 1988 on the northern Kurdish town of Halabja, an attack that killed 5,000 people.