Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Boston Globe
October 27, 2008
BAGHDAD - Iraq's Cabinet yesterday delayed a decision on the draft security agreement that would keep American troops here for three more years, and one prominent lawmaker suggested some parties may be stalling until after the US election on Nov. 4.
The Bush administration has been hoping for quick agreement by the Iraqis on the pact, which must be approved by parliament before the UN mandate expires at the end of the year.
Without an agreement, or an extension of the mandate, the US military would probably suspend operations because there would be no legal basis for the mission.
The 37-member Cabinet, made up of Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds, canceled an extraordinary session called for yesterday to discuss the agreement and review proposed changes that would be submitted to the Americans.
"We cannot rule out the possibility that there are some groups that want to delay the issue until after the US elections," said prominent Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman. "They think that it is better to deal or to reach a better understanding with the new administration and they are not in a hurry."
A top aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Sadiq al-Rikabi, said the meeting was put off because "proposals are still arriving" from the ministries.
The only political group that has come out in favor of the agreement is the Kurdish alliance, which controls 54 of the 275 parliament seats.
Followers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who hold another 30 seats, have rejected any security agreement that would keep US troops here.
--Associated Press
October 27, 2008
BAGHDAD - Iraq's Cabinet yesterday delayed a decision on the draft security agreement that would keep American troops here for three more years, and one prominent lawmaker suggested some parties may be stalling until after the US election on Nov. 4.
The Bush administration has been hoping for quick agreement by the Iraqis on the pact, which must be approved by parliament before the UN mandate expires at the end of the year.
Without an agreement, or an extension of the mandate, the US military would probably suspend operations because there would be no legal basis for the mission.
The 37-member Cabinet, made up of Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds, canceled an extraordinary session called for yesterday to discuss the agreement and review proposed changes that would be submitted to the Americans.
"We cannot rule out the possibility that there are some groups that want to delay the issue until after the US elections," said prominent Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman. "They think that it is better to deal or to reach a better understanding with the new administration and they are not in a hurry."
A top aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Sadiq al-Rikabi, said the meeting was put off because "proposals are still arriving" from the ministries.
The only political group that has come out in favor of the agreement is the Kurdish alliance, which controls 54 of the 275 parliament seats.
Followers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who hold another 30 seats, have rejected any security agreement that would keep US troops here.
--Associated Press