Saturday
Dec202008
Breaking News: Iraqi Parliament Inflicts Defeat on al-Maliki, "Coalition" Forces
Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 17:31
By a vote of 80-68, the Iraqi Parliament has rejected the draft law setting a withdrawal date of 31 May 2009 for troops from Britain and five other countries. Technically, the rejection means that the troops of the six countries should be out of Iraq by 31 December, when the UN mandate for their presence expires.
Practically, it's hard to see how the British contingent of 4100 --- who had a grace period until 31 July under the law to leave --- will be able to load up with all their equipment within the next 11 days. But that's only a secondary issue.
Instead, the significance of this news is symbolic. This is a major slap-down for the al-Maliki Government. For weeks, especially after the passage of the Status of Forces Agreement for US forces, many in the US and British media have portrayed Parliamentary opposition as limited to the Sadrist faction of about 30 members. This vote indicates that there are a folks beyond Moqtada al-Sadr --- Sunni and Shi'a --- who are ready to see the back of al-Maliki.
That wish is exacerbated by unease at the Government's approach to foreign powers and what it means for Iraqi "sovereignty". The immediate reason for the defeat was that the Government tried to rush through an umbrella agreement, rather than submitting bilateral agreements with each of the six countries. The background reason was resentment at the deal with the US, which --- as it was not a formal "treaty" --- bypassed normal legal processes. As a Sunni member told the BBC, the deals should be "arranged, according to international law, through treaties or agreements".
Practically, it's hard to see how the British contingent of 4100 --- who had a grace period until 31 July under the law to leave --- will be able to load up with all their equipment within the next 11 days. But that's only a secondary issue.
Instead, the significance of this news is symbolic. This is a major slap-down for the al-Maliki Government. For weeks, especially after the passage of the Status of Forces Agreement for US forces, many in the US and British media have portrayed Parliamentary opposition as limited to the Sadrist faction of about 30 members. This vote indicates that there are a folks beyond Moqtada al-Sadr --- Sunni and Shi'a --- who are ready to see the back of al-Maliki.
That wish is exacerbated by unease at the Government's approach to foreign powers and what it means for Iraqi "sovereignty". The immediate reason for the defeat was that the Government tried to rush through an umbrella agreement, rather than submitting bilateral agreements with each of the six countries. The background reason was resentment at the deal with the US, which --- as it was not a formal "treaty" --- bypassed normal legal processes. As a Sunni member told the BBC, the deals should be "arranged, according to international law, through treaties or agreements".
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