Iraqi PM: Timeline for U.S. withdrawal could be moved up
As opposition lawmakers shouted and pounded their desks in protest, Iraq's parliament on Thursday resumed deliberating a proposed security pact with the United States that would allow U.S. troops to stay there three more years. According to the AP, the parliament completed a second reading of the proposal, the last step prior to the opening of debate on the security pact ahead of the Nov. 24 vote.
Lawmakers loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr sought to disrupt Thursday's reading as they did the previous day, when they scuffled with security guards after one of them aggressively approached the bench while a lawmaker from the ruling Shiite coalition was reading the text aloud.
On Thursday, the Sadrists attempted to drown out the voice of the lawmaker reading it aloud. Shouting matches later ensued, with Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani barely able to control the chaos in the 275-seat chamber.
Also Thursday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the alternative to the security pact would compromise Iraq's sovereignty. "The danger of an extension is the removal of Iraq's sovereignty and facing the same problem again, which will drive us back to searching for another agreement" with the Americans, al-Maliki said, according to the AP.
He assured Iraqis that the timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces under the agreement is not negotiable and could even be moved up.