BAGHDAD: Iraqi lawmakers yesterday opened debate on a pact with the United States that will allow US forces to remain for three more years, and neighboring Syria criticized the security agreement as a virtual surrender to American interests. More than two-thirds of the 275-seat legislature attended the session, raising confidence that Parliament will be able to muster a quorum for the vote on Nov. 24. The Cabinet overwhelmingly approved the security pact on Sunday, meaning the political parties in Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s coalition government are expected to have similar success in securing parliamentary support.
Speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani ended the session after the text of the agreement was read to lawmakers — the first stage of legislative procedure for adopting bills.
Lawmakers will meet again today. If Parliament approves the deal, President Jalal Talabani and his two deputies must ratify it.
Under the agreement, US forces must vacate Iraqi cities by June, leave Iraq by the end of 2011 and grant Iraqi authorities extensive power over the operations and movements of American forces. The deal would replace a UN mandate governing their presence in Iraq that expires Dec.31.
While US Ambassador Ryan Crocker described the Iraqi Cabinet’s approval of the pact as “historic” at a time when security has improved dramatically, a top Syrian official dismissed the deal as an “award to the occupiers” of the war-devastated country.
