Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 1, 2008 By Bushra Juhi, Associated Press
Baghdad--Loyalists of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on the Iraqi government Saturday to hold a public referendum on a long-term security deal with the United States.
Widespread opposition to the deal has raised doubts that negotiators can meet a July target to finalize a pact to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after the current U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year.
Senior Sadrists, including lawmakers Falah Hassan Shanshal and Maha Adel al-Douri, met in the cleric's Sadr City office in Baghdad and issued a statement calling on the Iraqi government to stop negotiations with the U.S.
Al-Sadr, the hard-line Shiite cleric and militia leader whose Mahdi Army battled American troops in Baghdad's Sadr City district until a truce this month, also has called for a referendum along with weekly protests against the deal. Opposition has also been growing among other groups.
U.S. and Iraqi officials began negotiations in March on a blueprint for the long-term security agreement and a second deal to establish the legal basis for U.S. troops to stay in the country after a U.N. mandate runs out. Few details have been released about the talks.
U.S. officials insist they are not seeking permanent bases, but many Iraqis fear the Americans want to keep at least some troops in the country for many years.
Tensions rose Saturday when Nassar al-Rubaie, the leader of the Sadrist bloc in parliament, was stopped at a police checkpoint outside Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad.
Al-Rubaie said the six-car convoy, en route from Basra to the holy city of Najaf, was held up for nearly two hours without explanation. He called for the government to stop harassing Sadrists and put those responsible on trial.
Police Col. Asaad Ali, the director of the Diwaniyah operations center, said police stopped the convoy because gunmen are not allowed in the city and al-Rubaie was protected by armed guards. He said a patrol was sent to safely escort the convoy on its way out of the province.
June 1, 2008 By Bushra Juhi, Associated Press
Baghdad--Loyalists of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on the Iraqi government Saturday to hold a public referendum on a long-term security deal with the United States.
Widespread opposition to the deal has raised doubts that negotiators can meet a July target to finalize a pact to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after the current U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year.
Senior Sadrists, including lawmakers Falah Hassan Shanshal and Maha Adel al-Douri, met in the cleric's Sadr City office in Baghdad and issued a statement calling on the Iraqi government to stop negotiations with the U.S.
Al-Sadr, the hard-line Shiite cleric and militia leader whose Mahdi Army battled American troops in Baghdad's Sadr City district until a truce this month, also has called for a referendum along with weekly protests against the deal. Opposition has also been growing among other groups.
U.S. and Iraqi officials began negotiations in March on a blueprint for the long-term security agreement and a second deal to establish the legal basis for U.S. troops to stay in the country after a U.N. mandate runs out. Few details have been released about the talks.
U.S. officials insist they are not seeking permanent bases, but many Iraqis fear the Americans want to keep at least some troops in the country for many years.
Tensions rose Saturday when Nassar al-Rubaie, the leader of the Sadrist bloc in parliament, was stopped at a police checkpoint outside Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad.
Al-Rubaie said the six-car convoy, en route from Basra to the holy city of Najaf, was held up for nearly two hours without explanation. He called for the government to stop harassing Sadrists and put those responsible on trial.
Police Col. Asaad Ali, the director of the Diwaniyah operations center, said police stopped the convoy because gunmen are not allowed in the city and al-Rubaie was protected by armed guards. He said a patrol was sent to safely escort the convoy on its way out of the province.