Iraq Leadership Holds off Accepting US-Iraq Pact

19 October 2008

Iraqis protest over US "occupation" (Video)

BAGHDAD – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ruling Shia coalition withheld support Sunday for the proposed security pact that would keep U.S. troops here for three more years, dealing a setback to American hopes of a speedy approval of the agreement.

The statement by the United Iraqi Alliance called for unspecified changes to the draft agreement, which parliament must ratify by the end of the year when the U.N. mandate expires.

The group's move comes a day after tens of thousands of demonstrators, mostly Shia's, took to the streets of Baghdad to show their opposition to the agreement.

The Shia alliance holds 85 of parliament's 275 seats and al-Maliki needs its solid support to win approval of the agreement by a strong majority.

The 30 lawmakers loyal to Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have already said they will vote against the agreement, and some Sunni lawmakers have spoken out against it too.

The alliance did not specify what it considered positive or negative, and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari warned it would be difficult to reopen negotiations.

The agreement provides for American troops to leave Baghdad and other Iraqi cities by the end of June 2009.

It would also give Iraq limited authority to prosecute U.S. soldiers and contractors for crimes committed off post and off duty, limit U.S. authority to search homes and detain people and give allegedly Iraqis more say in the conduct of American military operations.

He also said some members wanted to know who would decide whether crimes committed by Americans met the standard for Iraqi trials.

Hassan al-Suneid, a lawmaker from al-Maliki's party, said members had reservations about portions "that don't comply with Iraq's sovereignty."

"We cannot talk today about rejection or acceptance in the absolute," al-Suneid told The Associated Press. "There are weak and strong points," including a timeline for the departure of American troops.

Some lawmakers complained the language in the draft was vague, especially those governing U.S. military operations and legal jurisdiction over American troops and contractors.

Although the alliance did not reject the accord outright, the review process within a coalition whose leaders negotiated the accord could well mean that parliament will not vote on the agreement until after the 4 November U.S. election.

Political consultations continued late Sunday between al-Maliki and the National Security Council, which includes the president, the vice presidents, the parliament speaker and leaders of major political factions. A government statement said the talks included the preparedness of the Iraqi security forces.

Iraqi politicians fear positions they take on the security pact will determine how they will fare at the ballot box in Iraq's next year elections, since many voters are anxious to see U.S. troops leave. Iraqi control of their own country is a burning issue in a nation that once saw itself as the beacon of pan-Arab nationalism.

The pact with the U.S. is expected to serve as a model for a separate agreement on the future of the 4,100 British troops in Iraq as well as the handful of other countries that remain in the coalition.

Al-Maliki said Sunday he would appoint a team soon to start discussions with Britain. He told The Times of London last week that British forces are no longer necessary to provide security.

Update:

The latest US media propaganda is the US- Iraq pack guarantees sovereignty to Iraq, when it has actually been reported that the document in question is a reminder of past agreement’s with the Native American’s where promises are made at the beginning of the document and nullified towards the end as to being extremely vague within the middle. To in actuality, no right’s to the Iraqi people or freedom for there country.