BAGHDAD (AFP) — Several prominent Shiite preachers in Iraq gave fiery Friday sermons warning against the signing of a new security agreement which would keep US forces in the country for up to another three years.
"Every Iraqi should read this agreement and decide for himself whether he agrees or disagrees with it," Sheikh Sattar al-Batat, a follower of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, said in the crowded slum of Sadr City.
"Will they agree to the complete immunity for American soldiers to do whatever they wish without accountability, or to use Iraq to strike the neighbours of Iraq?" he told tens of thousands of worshippers.
"No one in his right mind can accept this agreement, so how can we?"
His remarks came after the United States and Iraq appeared to be moving closer to a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to govern the presence of US troops after their UN mandate expires at the end of the year.
The draft agreement calls for US troops to move out of all towns and cities by June 2009 and withdraw from the country completely by 2011, although Iraqi officials have said some troops may remain longer if necessary.
There are currently almost 145,000 US troops in Iraq.
"The Americans want to cloak their presence in a robe of legitimacy with this agreement, so they can remain forever," Sheikh Talal al-Saadi told a similar gathering at the Kadhimiya shrine in central Baghdad.
"We call on all officials not to dirty their hands with these sorts of agreements," the Sadrist imam added.
He called on US president-elect Barack Obama to fulfill his campaign pledge to withdraw the troops within 16 months of taking office.
In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Sadr al-Din al-Qubanshi, a cleric loyal to Iraq's other main Shiite movement, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, also criticised the agreement.
"We are not happy with the agreement, which is binding on the Iraqi side but not on the US side," he said in a sermon.
"There are only two ways for there to be agreement on this document -- the first is a popular referendum and the second is the support of our highest religious leadership."
Qubanshi was referring to the reclusive Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, considered the most senior Shiite religious leader in the country.
Iraq's main Sunni preachers did not mention the agreement in their Friday sermons, perhaps reflecting fears that a rapid US withdrawal could leave them at the mercy of a national government dominated by Shiites.
Iraq and the United States must agree on the pact before the UN mandate allowing foreign soldiers to operate in the country expires on December 31.
A failure to agree on the current draft would raise a new set of thorny problems for both Washington and Baghdad, starting with the need to request a new mandate from the UN Security Council.
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