Anti-Sadrist accusations are groundless- MP

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A parliamentarian from the Sadrist bloc on Sunday said that accusations against his bloc of working in accordance with a regional agenda are “groundless” and false. “MP Taha al-Lehebi’s accusations against the Sadrist Movement of implementing a regional agenda are groundless, false and reflect a personal opinion,” MP Fawzi Akram Tarzi told IraqiNews.com. Yesterday, Lehebi from the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front (IAF) accused Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s movement of following a regional agenda, welcoming a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement if it would “protect Iraq from an Iranian occupation.” The U.S. and Iraqi governments are currently negotiating a security pact that would regulate the presence of foreign troops in the country after 2008. A declaration of principles was signed between U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in December 2007. The declaration was scheduled to be ratified on July 31, 2008 and to come into force as of January 1, 2009. The agreement governs the presence of U.S. forces in the country after 2008 and will not come into force without the approval of the Iraqi Parliament, which has 275 members from five blocs, in addition to the Sadrist movement and al-Fadhila party. The U.S. troops’ presence currently relies on a mandate by the United Nations and is annually renewed at the request of the Iraqi government. SS (S) 1