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Al-Sadr loyalists disrupt debate on U.S. pact

BAGHDAD: Lawmakers loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday disrupted a parliamentary debate ahead of a November 24 vote on a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that would keep American troops in Iraq for three more years.

Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani adjourned the session until Thursday after Sadrist legislator Ahmed al-Massoudi aggressively approached a legislator from the ruling coalition who was reading aloud the text of the agreement.

Mr. Al-Massoudi appeared to be on the verge of grabbing the document as Hassan al-Sineid read it. Guards of Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, seated next to Mr. Al-Sineid, stopped Mr. Al-Massoudi from reaching the bench.

The Sadrists oppose the agreement, which enjoys the support of the ruling coalition. Wednesday’s session was stormy from the start, with Sadrist legislators constantly trying to disrupt the proceedings. Mr. Al-Mashhadani was involved in several shouting matches with the Sadrists, who demanded that a draft bill regulating the adoption of treaties with foreign nations be adopted ahead of the debate on the security agreement.

The 275-seat legislature does not have much time to adopt the security pact, and the Sadrists’ tactic appears designed to take advantage of that to derail the agreement. Mr. Al-Sadr has a long history of conflict with the U.S., launching several uprisings against U.S. forces since they occupied Iraq in 2003.

The legislature is expected to go into recess in early December for Eid al-Adha. At that time, legislators will travel to Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, denying the House a quorum to debate or vote on the pact.

If the agreement is approved by Parliament, it will go to the President and his two deputies for ratification. Each one — President Jalal Talabani and Vice-Presidents Adel Abdul-Mahdi and Tariq al-Hashemi — has the power to veto the agreement.

Failing to adopt it will leave Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki no choice but to seek the renewal of a U.N. mandate under which American and other foreign forces operate in Iraq. The Sadrist disruption in Parliament followed an announcement by the small Shia Fadhila party that it would not vote in support of the agreement. Fadhila has 15 legislators.

Mr. Maliki’s ruling coalition dominates the legislature, so the security pact is virtually assured of a parliamentary majority despite the opposition of Fadhila’s legislators and the nearly 30 loyal to Mr. Al-Sadr. The Cabinet approved the deal with Washington on Sunday.

The complaints of the Fadhila party and the Sadrists’ vehement opposition, however, reflect unease among some Iraqis about a continuing U.S. presence in their country after years of war, even if a clear timetable for their withdrawal is laid out in the deal. The Fadhila party, which is based in Basra, complained that it had not been kept informed during the negotiations. — AP

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