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Sistani against pact with U.S.

DUBAI: Iraq’s top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, has opposed a long-term security pact with the U.S. amid calls by the government on a firm withdrawal timetable of American forces stationed in Iraq.

Ayatollah Sistani, who enjoys wide following in Iraq, said a security deal would undermine sovereignty. According to Alalam News, he said Iraq should not accept an arrangement that legitimised U.S. occupation of Iraq. The cleric stated his views during a meeting on Tuesday in Najaf with Iraq’s National Security Adviser Mowaffaq Al-Rubaie.

Mr. Rubaie, on his part, linked signing a security agreement with the declaration of a firm timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. “We can’t have a memorandum of understanding with foreign forces unless it has dates and clear horizons determining the departure of foreign forces. We’re unambiguously talking about their departure,” he said following the meeting with Ayatollah Sistani.

Mr. Rubaie’s comments elaborate remarks that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki made in Abu Dhabi on Monday. In a meeting with Arab Ambassadors, Mr. Maliki had said a military deal with the U.S. should have some timetable of withdrawal. He had added that Iraq was looking for a short-term Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Washington, rather than the more formal Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which the two sides had been negotiating.

Negotiations are ongoing with the U.S. side and the current attitude is to reach a memorandum of understanding either for immediate U.S. forces withdrawal or timetable withdrawal,” Mr. Maliki had observed.

Mr. Maliki has been under considerable pressure from the followers of the influential Shia cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr to distance himself from the proposed U.S. deal. Last week, thousands of Shias had demonstrated against signing the SOFA.

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