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Iraq's Sadr warns of military confrontation against US troops after 2011
Iraq's Sadr warns of military confrontation against US troops after 2011
BAGHDAD, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr warned on Sunday that any U.S. troops for training mission staying in Iraq after the end of 2011 deadline will be considered as occupation forces and to be resisted by military means.
"Anyone who stays in Iraq from the Americans will be treated as oppressive occupier that should be resisted through military means, " Sadr said in a statement issued by his office.
Sadr described the government which accepts the staying of U.S. troops, as a weak government, even if the troops are kept for training mission, the statement said.
Late on Tuesday, the Iraqi political leaders agreed in a meeting to give green light to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to start talks with the United States about keeping some of its troops in Iraq beyond the end of 2011 deadline only for training the Iraqi security forces.
However, Qussai al-Shuheil, deputy parliament speaker and representative for Sadr parliamentary bloc, walked out of the meeting which was held in the residence of President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad, protesting the discussion of U.S. troops' presence after the end of 2011.
Bahaa al-Araji, a lawmaker from Sadr bloc, said after the meeting that his bloc declared its reservation on the talks over keeping U.S. trainers in Iraq after the end of 2011 and vowed to reject any government move in this regard.
"Any agreement with the U.S. troops has to be passed by the Council of Representatives (parliament) and the Ministerial Council (cabinet), and we have representatives in both who will reject keeping any force after 2011," Araji said without clarifying whether Sadrist are capable to collect enough votes to prevent passing such a decision.
U.S. military forces are to pull out completely from Iraq by the end of 2011, according to a security pact, named Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), signed late in 2008 between Baghdad and Washington.
Maliki frequently said that SOFA cannot be renewed as stated in the agreement, but talks with the Americans is expected to let a small number of U.S. troops to stay in Iraq beyond the end of 2011 deadline only for training Iraqi forces under the Strategic Framework Agreement, which was signed earlier with the SOFA between the two countries.
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