Iraqi MP's Plan To Vote U.S Out
Members of Iraq's Parliament have been gathering support for a measure that would allow the assembly to vote on whether U.S troops should stay in the country. This is pretty much what U.S Presidential candidate Tommy Thompson proposed as a solution to gaining legitimacy for an American presence, although he thinks they'd vote yes. Not according to this article:
Baha Al Aaraji, a supporter of radical anti-American cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, said that 144 members of the 275-seat national assembly had signed a draft law that would set a departure timetable for US troops.
"The signatures have been submitted to the speaker of parliament and, after that, a committee chaired by me was formed," he said.
Aaraji's committee has asked Iraq's defense, interior, and national security ministries to suggest a date by which their forces will be ready to take charge of security operations currently overseen by US forces.
"We've received two answers and now the committee is holding a series of meetings. We could finish within the next few days, and then the law will be discussed and voted on," Aaraji said.
"Many people support it. I signed it myself," said Kurdish MP Mahmoud Othman, while insisting that most members regard the vote as a non-binding petition rather than a law that would require a withdrawal.
Othman said Sadr's supporters were focusing too hard on the withdrawal side of the bill while others, despite supporting the draft, were mainly seeking a role for the Iraqi parliament in making the eventual decision.
"They want to build Iraqi forces to take over when the Americans withdraw while they are withdrawing American forces. The two processes go hand-in-hand," he said, while confirming his support for a timetable.
"A majority of parliamentarians want this objective timetable agreed upon between Iraqis and Americans," he added. (ME TIMES)
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