Parl. holds session on security pact

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Under the chairmanship of Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, the Iraqi Parliament on Saturday held an open session to debate the U.S. 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 (P) 1