.Iraqi PM: Top cleric won't block US pact
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's prime minister said Friday that the country's most influential Shiite cleric will leave the decision on the future of U.S. troops to the government and parliament - a step that could remove a major obstacle to a deal.
Tension rose in the Iraqi capital Friday as a car bomb killed 13 people in a Shiite enclave and thousands of Shiites marched to mourn the assassination of a lawmaker which their leaders blamed on the Americans.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, journeyed Friday to the Shiite holy city of Najaf to brief Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani about the progress in talks with the U.S. on a security agreement governing operations of American forces starting next year.
After a 2 1/2-hour meeting, al-Maliki told reporters that the Iranian-born cleric would not oppose the security deal if it is approved by the country's democratic institutions - including parliament, which must ratify the pact.
"He does not want anything forced or imposed on the Iraqi people," al-Maliki said. "Rather he wants it to be done through the institutions. If the government and the parliament approve this, then (al-Sistani) will be convinced that is what the Iraqi people have decided."
Al-Sistani's office had no comment.
However, it would be politically untenable for al-Maliki to accept a deal and send it to parliament for ratification if al-Sistani spoke out publicly against it.
Al-Sistani's earlier insistence that only elected officials draft Iraq's first constitution after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein forced the United States to change its blueprint for the country's transition to democratic rule.
Al-Sistani also pressured the Americans to agree to the first post-Saddam elections in January 2005, even though many U.S. officials believed the country was too unstable for meaningful balloting.
American and Iraqi officials have said they are close to an agreement that would replace the U.N. mandate for U.S. forces in Iraq; the mandate expires Dec. 31. But the most contentious issue - legal jurisdiction and immunity for U.S. troops under Iraqi law - remains unresolved.
Al-Maliki said the U.S. had made major concessions, including agreeing to pull U.S. forces back to their bases by the end of June and to a full withdrawal by Dec. 31, 2011.
President Bush had steadfastly refused for years to set a timetable for a troop withdrawal, saying that should depend on security conditions on the ground. Iraqi politicians say they cannot sell the deal to their war-weary public without a timeline for the end of the U.S. presence.
However, one senior U.S. official, close to the talks, confirmed Friday that the Americans had agreed to the June and 2011 dates.
The official, who requested anonymity because the talks are ongoing, said the United States still believes that security conditions should determine the withdrawal schedule but that Washington can live with the language in the draft deal.
Iraqi officials have said the U.S. departure could be delayed if the government asks the U.S. to stay.
Neighboring Iran strongly opposes the agreement, fearing it would leave open the possibility of a U.S. military presence on its western border.
U.S. officials accuse Iran of arming and training Iraqi Shiite extremists, who could use violence to pressure the government against the deal. Iran denies any links to Shiite extremists.
As the government moves toward a decision on the security deal, tensions have been rising within the Shiite community. A roadside bomb Thursday killed a prominent Shiite lawmaker loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, the anti-U.S. cleric who lives in Iran and opposes the security agreement.
U.S. officials suspected Shiite splinter groups were responsible for killing the politician, Saleh al-Auqaeili, a moderate within the Sadrist movement. But many of al-Sadr's followers blame the Americans and the Iraqi government.
In Baghdad, thousands of Sadrists marched through the sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City behind a car carrying al-Auqaeili's coffin. A statement from al-Sadr read out loud during the procession praised al-Auqaeili for dedicating himself to "getting the occupier out of Iraq."
The march followed overnight clashes in Sadr City in which one American soldier was wounded, the U.S. military said. The fighting, though small-scale, was a sign that Shiite extremists are trying to rebound after losing control of their Sadr City stronghold in fighting last spring.
The car bomb exploded in the main outdoor market in Abu Dshir, a Shiite enclave in the Dora neighborhood, where Sunni-Shiite tensions had been running high last year. The blast ripped the fronts off shops and set several of them ablaze.
Police and hospital officials said 13 people were killed and 27 wounded. The U.S. military gave a lower toll, saying four civilians were killed and 14 wounded in the attack. Differing casualty tolls are common in Iraq.
Earlier Friday, a roadside bomb struck a minibus in another part of Dora, killing one passenger and wounding 12. The U.S. military said 10 civilians were wounded.
In the northern city of Mosul, four people were killed and 20 wounded when a roadside bomb detonated Friday near an Iraqi police patrol, the U.S. military said.
U.S. and Iraqi troops have been trying for months to drive al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni militants from Mosul, the country's third largest city.
MyWay
No wonder the Sadrist dropped their objections.
Tension rose in the Iraqi capital Friday as a car bomb killed 13 people in a Shiite enclave and thousands of Shiites marched to mourn the assassination of a lawmaker which their leaders blamed on the Americans.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, journeyed Friday to the Shiite holy city of Najaf to brief Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani about the progress in talks with the U.S. on a security agreement governing operations of American forces starting next year.
After a 2 1/2-hour meeting, al-Maliki told reporters that the Iranian-born cleric would not oppose the security deal if it is approved by the country's democratic institutions - including parliament, which must ratify the pact.
"He does not want anything forced or imposed on the Iraqi people," al-Maliki said. "Rather he wants it to be done through the institutions. If the government and the parliament approve this, then (al-Sistani) will be convinced that is what the Iraqi people have decided."
Al-Sistani's office had no comment.
However, it would be politically untenable for al-Maliki to accept a deal and send it to parliament for ratification if al-Sistani spoke out publicly against it.
Al-Sistani's earlier insistence that only elected officials draft Iraq's first constitution after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein forced the United States to change its blueprint for the country's transition to democratic rule.
Al-Sistani also pressured the Americans to agree to the first post-Saddam elections in January 2005, even though many U.S. officials believed the country was too unstable for meaningful balloting.
American and Iraqi officials have said they are close to an agreement that would replace the U.N. mandate for U.S. forces in Iraq; the mandate expires Dec. 31. But the most contentious issue - legal jurisdiction and immunity for U.S. troops under Iraqi law - remains unresolved.
Al-Maliki said the U.S. had made major concessions, including agreeing to pull U.S. forces back to their bases by the end of June and to a full withdrawal by Dec. 31, 2011.
President Bush had steadfastly refused for years to set a timetable for a troop withdrawal, saying that should depend on security conditions on the ground. Iraqi politicians say they cannot sell the deal to their war-weary public without a timeline for the end of the U.S. presence.
However, one senior U.S. official, close to the talks, confirmed Friday that the Americans had agreed to the June and 2011 dates.
The official, who requested anonymity because the talks are ongoing, said the United States still believes that security conditions should determine the withdrawal schedule but that Washington can live with the language in the draft deal.
Iraqi officials have said the U.S. departure could be delayed if the government asks the U.S. to stay.
Neighboring Iran strongly opposes the agreement, fearing it would leave open the possibility of a U.S. military presence on its western border.
U.S. officials accuse Iran of arming and training Iraqi Shiite extremists, who could use violence to pressure the government against the deal. Iran denies any links to Shiite extremists.
As the government moves toward a decision on the security deal, tensions have been rising within the Shiite community. A roadside bomb Thursday killed a prominent Shiite lawmaker loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, the anti-U.S. cleric who lives in Iran and opposes the security agreement.
U.S. officials suspected Shiite splinter groups were responsible for killing the politician, Saleh al-Auqaeili, a moderate within the Sadrist movement. But many of al-Sadr's followers blame the Americans and the Iraqi government.
In Baghdad, thousands of Sadrists marched through the sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City behind a car carrying al-Auqaeili's coffin. A statement from al-Sadr read out loud during the procession praised al-Auqaeili for dedicating himself to "getting the occupier out of Iraq."
The march followed overnight clashes in Sadr City in which one American soldier was wounded, the U.S. military said. The fighting, though small-scale, was a sign that Shiite extremists are trying to rebound after losing control of their Sadr City stronghold in fighting last spring.
The car bomb exploded in the main outdoor market in Abu Dshir, a Shiite enclave in the Dora neighborhood, where Sunni-Shiite tensions had been running high last year. The blast ripped the fronts off shops and set several of them ablaze.
Police and hospital officials said 13 people were killed and 27 wounded. The U.S. military gave a lower toll, saying four civilians were killed and 14 wounded in the attack. Differing casualty tolls are common in Iraq.
Earlier Friday, a roadside bomb struck a minibus in another part of Dora, killing one passenger and wounding 12. The U.S. military said 10 civilians were wounded.
In the northern city of Mosul, four people were killed and 20 wounded when a roadside bomb detonated Friday near an Iraqi police patrol, the U.S. military said.
U.S. and Iraqi troops have been trying for months to drive al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni militants from Mosul, the country's third largest city.
MyWay
No wonder the Sadrist dropped their objections.
posted by madtom at 9:10 PM
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