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| Iraq | |
| Iraq votes on SOFA Wednesday | |
| 2008-11-23 | |
Iraq's parliament will vote Wednesday on a security pact with the US that would allow American troops to stay in Iraq for three more years.
Al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab who supports the pact, said chances that the deal will pass are "50-50.'' "We support the agreement because it is the least bad alternative," he said. Some other Sunni politicians are calling to put the pact to a referendum. The 85-member United Iraqi Alliance, which is the biggest Shia parliamentary group, expressed its support for the pact through Hadi al-Ameiri. "It is not the ideal choice but it is the best choice because at least it sets a timetable for the departure of American troops," he said. 30 MPs of the Shia Sadrist bloc, have opposed the deal from the start. Thousands of Sadrist supporters gathered in Baghdad on Friday to protest against the security agreement. "The deal was written by American hands and the government has been obliged to sign it. It damages Iraq's sovereignty," Nassir al-Isawi said. To be approved the Status Of Forces Agreement or SOFA, needs 138 votes from the 275 MPs. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, said the deal was necessary because the premature departure of US troops would cause serious security threats. "The alternative is much worse than the agreement,'' he said, referring to an expiring UN mandate, under which the US forces are operating in Iraq. The mandate expires on December 31 2008. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose government negotiated the deal over the past several months, has said he wanted the deal approved by consensus, and the country's most influential Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has indicated that the deal would be acceptable only if it wins passage in the legislature by a big majority. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Chances that it'll pass the Donk Senate are probably even lower. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-11-23 09:33 |