Disagreement on US troop pullout agreement in Iraq

Dubai: Statements by Iraqi politicians that a security agreement with the US will be reached soon are merely attempts to weaken the opposition's demands, according to an Iraqi parliamentarian who spoke to Gulf News on condition of anonymity.

His statements come as Iraqi leaders held further talks on Monday on possible amendments to the final security draft.

However, before an accord with the US, the Shiite majority must first come to an agreement on the status of American troops in Iraq, the lawmaker explained.

He said the Iraqi government itself does not have a unifed stance on the issue.

He said the rejection of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) by some groups is attributed to the vagueness over the deadline for withdrawal of the US troops.

Disagreement among the leaders of Shiite groups reflect the positions of their followers, the MP said.

"I myself feel confused about the pact. I really don't see any meaning in pressing for an unbalanced agreement like the one under consideration now, because the unjust clauses in any agreement can become the seeds for revolt against it in future," he warned.

Regardless of the purported consensus over SOFA, there is still much disagreement between the different groups forming the majority alliance.

Pretext

"If the US administration succeeded in pressuring the Iraqi parliament to pass the agreement before the presidential election in the United States without taking the points of concern into consideration, I think Iraq will suffer a lot and the fragile unity among Iraqis will collapse," he said. He accused the Political Council for National Security in Iraq for trying to pass the agreement under pressure from the US.

"The Political Council for National Security failed to represent the interests of the Iraqi people in negotiating the deal and instead acted as an agent to impose it on the people of Iraq," he said.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker in a speech yesterday in Baghdad assured that Iraq's sovereignty would be fully intact.

The strongest opponent of the deal is the powerful anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr in addition to a number of leaders from the bloc of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki who recently called for further changes.

The SOFA is aimed at providing the legal basis for a US troop presence in Iraq after the present UN mandate expires next December 31.

Main points

Timetable for withdrawal: US troops will leave Iraqi cities and towns by next summer and withdraw from all of Iraq by December 31, 2011, but decisions on troop withdrawals will be based on security conditions

Immunity: The agreement would give Iraq legal jurisdiction over Americans accused of serious crimes while off-base or off-duty.

Restriction: The agreement also restricts US military powers by permitting troops to detain Iraqis only through an Iraqi order.