Iraq Cabinet seeks changes in pact with U.S.
With the U.N. mandate governing troops in Iraq running out in a few months, Iraqi ministers are set to debate alterations to a proposed U.S.-Iraq pact.
Reported from Baghdad — Iraq's Cabinet asked for changes in a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement Tuesday, once more casting doubt on the document's speedy passage with less than three months to go before the U.N. mandate authorizing the presence of American troops in Iraq expires.
The first Cabinet session reviewing the document revealed what a divisive issue the security agreement has become. Only the country's Kurdish bloc is publicly backing the current accord, while Shiite Muslim and Sunni Arab allies of the United States remain wary of endorsing the draft, which had been described by both Americans and Iraqis as in its final form. The Iraqi side again called for more negotiations.
"The Council of Ministers has unanimously agreed that there are necessary amendments which need to be made to the current draft in order to raise the agreement to a nationally acceptable level," government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said in a statement.
The slow pace means an agreement might not be reached before the U.S. presidential election in two weeks, and that Iraqi and U.S. negotiators might ultimately forgo a long-term security agreement in favor of a more temporary arrangement.
In Washington, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates told reporters that the door to change was "pretty far closed" and warned that failure to reach a deal or renew the United Nations mandate would mean suspension of U.S. operations.
"There is great reluctance to engage further in the drafting process," he said, according to Reuters news service.
One Iraqi government official who attended the session said the Cabinet would start debating the suggested changes Sunday. He described the new objections as proof that the main factions in the government, particularly Shiite, are reluctant to risk their political future on an agreement that has been assailed by Iran and Iraqi cleric Muqtada Sadr, a rival to the ruling Shiite coalition.
"These are diversionary tactics. We've gone through this before and now we are back to square one," the official said. "Definitely we are running out of time."
The official heaped blame on Prime Minister Nouri Maliki for failing to put his weight behind the draft. For his part, the prime minister said a decision on the agreement does not belong to him but the government. Maliki told Kuwaiti journalists Thursday that he was not sure when the deal would go forward.
