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Iraqi parliament demands say in any
extension of U.S.-led forces
6.6.2007
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June
6, 2007
BAGHDAD, -- Iraqi legislators led by
followers of a radical Shiite cleric passed a
resolution Tuesday requiring the government to seek
parliamentary permission for asking the United
Nations to extend the mandate of U.S.-led forces in
Iraq.
The measure was approved along party lines, with
Sunnis joining the bloc loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr and
another disaffected Shiite party to support it, and
Shiite and Kurdish backers of Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki's government in opposition.
The U.N. mandate for foreign forces in Iraq has been
extended for a year through Dec. 31 at al-Maliki's
request, so the parliamentary action was not
expected to have any immediate effect. But it
reflected growing disenchantment with the
U.S.-backed government as Iraq's fractured parties
jockey for power amid calls for U.S. forces to
withdraw.
"If the government wants to extend the presence of
the multinational forces, it has to come to us in
the parliament to convince us first," said the Sunni
parliament speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.
The effort mirrors U.S. President George W. Bush's
rivalry with the Democratic-led Congress, which has
urged the administration to begin bringing American
troops home.
The U.N. Security Council voted on Nov. 28 to extend
the mandate of the multinational force through the
end of next year, although it also authorized a
review of the mandate by June 15 or earlier if
requested by the Iraqi government. It also contained
the same provision as past resolutions — a
commitment that the council "will terminate this
mandate earlier if requested by the government of
Iraq."
The Shiite prime minister has said he wants Iraqi
forces to take over the country's security but he
has refused to demand a timetable for the withdrawal
of foreign forces.
"I think the situation is clear ... when the Iraqi
troops are ready and can control the country, the
government will ask the multinational forces to
leave," said one of his aides, George Bakus.
The Sadrist-drafted resolution passed with a vote of
85 to 59. Only 144 of the 275 members of the Iraqi
parliament were present but that was enough for a
quorum.
Sunni political leader Adnan Dulaimi raised his hand
as his Sunni Accordance Front supported the measure,
along with the Sadrists and members of the Fadhila
party, which recently withdrew from the Shiite
United Iraqi Alliance.
"This was the first step in implementing our
political goal which is the withdrawal of the
occupation forces," Sadrist lawmaker Nassir al-Issawi
said.
Those opposed included Kurdish legislators and
members of other mainstream Shiite parties,
including al-Maliki's Dawa Party and the Supreme
Islamic Council of Iraq.
Prominent Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman objected
to the resolution and said during the session that
"it is supposed that extension of the mandate of the
forces should go with completing building the Iraqi
forces."
Jalaluddin al-Saghir, a Shiite cleric and a lawmaker
from the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq said the
resolution was an additional obstacle for the
government as it works to quell the sectarian
violence in Iraq.
"The government was at least supposed to be
consulted before such a resolution was approved," he
said. "Those who voted for the resolution had
political aims."
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia battled the U.S.
military in 2004, recently resurfaced after going
underground at the start of a U.S.-Iraq security
crackdown.
His bloc also has spearheaded a draft bill calling
for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops
and demanding a freeze on the number already in the
country, and the cleric withdrew his support from
al-Maliki and ordered his six Cabinet ministers to
leave the government due to the refusal to impose a
timetable on U.S.-led forces.
AP
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