Iraqi cleric criticizes security pact

BAGHDAD — Anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged Iraq’s parliament to reject a pact that would extend the U.S. presence in Iraq for three years as tens of thousands of his followers marched through Baghdad’s streets Saturday to reinforce that demand.

The large turnout points to trouble ahead for the U.S.-Iraqi security deal as Sunni and Shiite lawmakers weigh the political risks associated with the agreement.

Waving Iraqi flags and green Shiite banners, protesters chanted slogans condemning the pact. The demonstration was staged under tight security, with soldiers and police manning checkpoints along the route.

“I am with every Sunni, Shiite or Christian who is opposed to the agreement … and I reject, condemn and renounce the presence of occupying forces and bases on our beloved land,” al-Sadr said in a message read to the crowd by a senior aide.

The pact, reached after months of bitter negotiations, governs the presence in Iraq of U.S. troops after their U.N. mandate expires Dec. 31. As copies of the draft became available this week, it sparked an intense public debate among top politicians.

A copy of the draft accord obtained by The Associated Press specifies that U.S. troops must leave Iraqi cities by the end of June and be gone by 2012. It gives Iraq limited authority over off-duty, off-base U.S. soldiers who commit crimes. U.S. congressional approval is not required for the pact to take effect, but the Bush administration is trying to build maximum political support anyway.

In Iraq, the pact must be ratified by the 275-seat parliament — riven by the narrow partisan interests, sectarian and ethnic divisions that have defined Iraqi politics since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein.

Next year’s provincial and national elections further complicate the pact’s approval.

Positions taken on the security pact could determine how political parties fare at the ballot box, with most voters anxious to see U.S. troops leave and Iraq become a truly sovereign nation again.

“It is not going to be easy to have parliament adopt the agreement,” said senior Kurdish politician and lawmaker Mahmoud Othman, warning that approval will likely be a drawn-out process.

That has left everyone hedging on the agreement — except for al-Sadr, who lives in Iran but controls 30 seats in parliament.

The key to approval of the pact is the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the largest Shiite party and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s senior coalition partner. The Supreme Council maintains close ties with Iran but has also been a reliable partner of the United States in Iraq.

“It is a tough issue because the public has been kept in the dark about it,” said Jalaluddin al-Saghir, a senior council lawmaker. “We don’t yet have a final position on its contents.”

The 54-seat Kurdish bloc in parliament supports the agreement. But the largest Sunni Arab bloc — the 44-seat National Accordance Front — has been hesitant to take a public position.