MP says troop deal presented as U.S. request

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: An Iraqi parliamentarian from the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) on Saturday described the troop deal with Washington as a “U.S. request” rather than an “Iraqi request.” “The agreement obliges the U.S. side to hand over detainees to the Iraqi judiciary… It has been submitted as a U.S. request, whereas it is an Iraqi request,” Qassem Dawoud said during a parliamentary session that is currently taking place to debate the security deal that has recently been endorsed by the Iraqi cabinet. The Iraqi cabinet has endorsed a controversial security pact, also known as the status-of-forces agreement (SOFA), by an overwhelming majority of 27 votes to 1. The Iraqi and U.S. sides have been negotiating a long-term security deal throughout the past months. The pact should determine the legal framework for U.S. troop presence when a UN mandate expires at the end of 2008. On Friday, thousands of followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr filled a central Baghdad square to protest the pact that would allow American troops to stay for three more years. SS (S) 1