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| Iraq |
| Iraqi-U.S. security agreement sort of mandate: Sadr bloc |
| 2008-07-22 |
| (VOI) — The parliamentary Sadr bloc on Monday expressed fears that the Iraqi-U.S. long-term security agreement currently being debated may transfer the situation from an occupation to a sort of mandate. "This agreement would change the direct occupation to a sort of mandate," lawmaker Nassar al-Rubaee said in a press conference in Baghdad. "There is a contradiction in the statements made by the Iraqi government regarding this treaty," he said. "Is it a security agreement, strategic treaty, or mutual cooperation protocol?" he added. "It became a protocol to ensure that it would not be enacted by the Parliament," he noted. From his side, Salih al-Igaili, lawmaker of the Sadr bloc, said "there are U.S. pressures on the Iraqi negotiator to change the agreement's title." "It went down from a treaty to an agreement in order not to be admitted to U.S. Congress," he added. "It also went further down to a memorandum of understanding so that it will not require the Iraqi Parliament's approval," he asserted. |
| Posted by:Fred |