The United Iraqi Alliance said it had objections regarding wording in the draft agreement. Ali Adeeb, a senior official in Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party, said the bloc would propose revisions to American negotiators and that it was confident the Americans would accept language regarding matters of sovereignty.
"What we want is to have clearer terms because the agreement might be used for something other than Iraq's interest. We want clear articles that would serve sovereignty," Adeeb said.
"I don't think there will be need for new discussions," he said.
Adeeb said he expected the Shiite bloc would submit the changes within two to three days. "Then we'll wait for the American side response to it. We think that the current draft is not acceptable," he said.
United Iraqi Alliance representatives met Saturday at the compound of Sheik Abdelaziz Hakim, the head of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the largest group in the bloc. Hakim's party had been one of the early proponents of a long-term strategic alliance with the United States.
The proposed revisions reflected nervousness among Shiite politicians at being associated too closely with a deal that could lead rivals to accuse them of working for American interests, something that might hurt their prospects in provincial elections scheduled to take place before the end of January.
Iran, which has close ties with Hakim's group and is credited by some UIA members with helping broker their alliance in 2005, has spoken out against the proposed pact. Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr also has raised the pressure by holding weekly protests against a security deal.
The last week saw a series of high-level meetings between Maliki and his fellow leaders, including Kurdistan regional President Massoud Barzani, President Jalal Talabani and Vice Presidents Tariq Hashimi and Adel Abdul Mehdi.
Although the current text provides a calendar for U.S. military withdrawal, it also grants American soldiers immunity from Iraqi law in a majority of situations. Many Iraqi lawmakers are unhappy with the protections that U.S. forces would have from the Iraqi court system.
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ned.parker@latimes.com
