PM arrives in parliament to attend vote on U.S. deal

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday arrived in the parliament in Baghdad to attend the vote on the U.S. troop withdrawal agreement, also known as the status of forces agreement (SOFA), according to the state-run al-Iraqia satellite television. The Iraqi cabinet last week had approved with an overwhelming majority of 27 votes to one the security pact between Iraq and the United States and was referred to Parliament for voting. SOFA will replace a United Nations mandate governing the U.S. presence in Iraq , due to expire on Dec. 31, and has been agreed on by the Bush administration. Under the proposed agreement, U.S. troops will exit Iraqi towns and cities by the middle of 2009, and the entire country by the end of 2011. The law also curbs U.S. powers to detain Iraqi citizens and conduct military operations. SOFA had drawn wide-scale local popular and political controversy after the cabinet endorsed it on last week, particularly from the Sadrist bloc of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. In accordance with the Iraqi constitution, SOFA cannot be effective before the parliament approves it. SH (P) 1