BAGHDAD - The newly resigned Iraqi parliament speaker has praised the journalist who threw shoes at President George W. Bush and says the legislature should have supported him.
Mahmoud al-Mashhadani's comments Wednesday came a day after he resigned under heavy pressure from Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers.
Al-Mashhadani, who is Sunni, described the journalist as "brave" and lamented that parliament did not also do so.
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.
The speaker's many opponents used the incident as a pretext to force him out.
