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Maliki says Iraq ready to compromise on US security pact
Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki said Monday that the government was ready to compromise to reach a security accord with the United States, saying the country still needs US troops despite the recent drop in violence. The speech came after a deadly spate of attacks took the lives of 35 Iraqis Sunday night.In an interview with The Associated Press, Maliki said neither he nor Iraq's Parliament will accept any pact that falls short of the country's national interests. A poorly constructed plan would provoke so much discord inside Iraq that it could threaten his government's survival, he said. Maliki said, however, that he was firmly committed to reaching an accord that would allow US troops to remain in the country beyond next year. "We regard negotiating and reaching such an agreement as a national endeavor, a national mission, a historic one. It is a very important agreement that involves the stability and the security of the country and the existence of foreign troops. It has a historic dimension," he added. Supporters of popular cleric Moqtada al-Sadr oppose the accord, arguing that US forces should leave Iraq as soon as possible. Neighboring Iran has also been speaking out vociferously against a long-term US presence in Iraq. Maliki also noted with gratitude the high cost paid by American taxpayers and by the US military and the forces of other coalition members to secure Iraq's freedom and liberty over the past five years. Maliki also said the government would be offering a compromise on the thorny issue of legal jurisdiction for US forces in the country involving some limited immunity for US forces. "We have proposed that the legal jurisdiction would be ... with the Americans ... when the troops are performing military operations," he explained. "When they are not performing a military operation, they are outside their camps, the legal jurisdiction would be in the hands of the Iraqi judiciary." Posted by: Fred 2008-09-30 |
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