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Electoral pressure seen driving Iraq pullout timetable demands
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Jul 10, 2008 09:35am |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Wednesday, July 9, 2008 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | BAGHDAD (AFP) — Insistent demands from the Iraqi government for a firm timetable for the pullout of foreign troops reflect huge pressure from its Shiite majority constituency in the runup to key provincial elections.
The calls have been given strong backing by the Shiite spiritual hierarchy which the mainly religious parties that lead the governing coalition have found almost impossible to ignore.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Arab ambassadors on Monday that Iraq was demanding a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces as it negotiates a deal with Washington for a military presence beyond 2008.
A day later, after a meeting with Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the shrine city of Najaf, National Security Adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie announced that Iraq would reject any deal that does not contain a timetable for a troop withdrawal.
"There is a reluctance from the clerics to go ahead (with the deal) without seeing the light at the end of the tunnel... without a timetable," said Mahmud Othman, a senior Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament.
"If you notice, Rubaie's comment came after he met Sistani. So there is pressure from the clerics." |
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