(AKI) – A representative of Iraqi Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has attacked a long-term Iraq-U.S. agreement, claiming it would "needlessly add further burdens on the Iraq people", according to the news agency Voices of Iraq.
"We don't want Iraq to be further burdened by problems and obligations that could impinge on the nation's sovereignty as well as the coming generations," Sayyid Ahmed al-Safi said during Friday prayers' in the holy Shia city of Karbala. "We're, however learning that there are political minds that put the nation's interests into consideration, and that the religious leaders are totally aware of what is planned," Safi said.
A declaration of principles was signed between US President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December 2007. The declaration is to be ratified on 31 July and will become effective from 1 January 2009. The agreement governs the presence of US forces in Iraq after the year 2008. This presence currently relies on a mandate by the United Nations, renewed annually upon the request of the Iraqi government. The agreement will be effective after the endorsement of the 275-member Iraqi parliament, which comprises five political blocs, the Fadhila (Virtue) Party and the Sadrist Bloc, or Iraqis loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. |