Sadrists in Baghdad to protest planned U.S.-Iraqi pact

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Thousands of followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr filled a central Baghdad square Friday to protest a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security pact that would allow American troops to stay for three more years, a media source from the Sadrist bloc said. “Thousands headed from the Sadr City to al-Fourdos square in central Baghdad to perform the Friday prayer and then protest against the planned U.S.-Iraqi security deal,” the source told IraqiNews.com. Iraq ‘s parliament is expected to vote next week on the plan to keep U.S. forces in Iraq for another three years. But the Sadrists indicates that even if it is approved, the deal could remain divisive in a country struggling for reconciliation. The Cabinet has approved the agreement, meaning it stands a good chance of passage in the 275-seat parliament where the government’s parties dominate. But for al-Maliki’s Dawa party and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, its senior government partner, the margin of support is almost as important as the victory itself. A narrow vote for approval will cast doubt on the legitimacy of the new terms governing the U.S. troop presence. The agreement requires American troops to leave Iraqi cities by next June 30 and all of the country by Jan. 1, 2012. It places U.S. military operations and movement under stringent Iraqi control, and gives Iraq limited judicial powers over American soldiers and defense contractors in the case of serious crimes committed off-base and off-duty. If approved by parliament and ratified by the presidency, the pact would take effect when a U.N. mandate for the American troop presence expires Dec. 31. SH (S) 1