The US government is close to reaching an agreement with the Iraqi government over its long term military role in the country but will not seek permanent bases in the nation.
Bush administration officials told Al Jazeera that they expect to finalise a deal by the end of July over the so-called Status of Forces agreement, or Sofa.
The agreement would replace the current United Nations mandate authorising US troops to remain in the nation, which expires in December 2008.
However, Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraq’s influential Shia cleric, has called for mass protests on Friday unless the Iraqi government abandons the proposed deal.
And last week Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most revered Shia cleric, also reportedly expressed his anger, saying he would not permit the Iraqi government to sign a deal with “US occupiers” as long as he lived.
Filed under: Politics | Tagged: AIPAC, Al Sadr, Baghdad, Basra, Iraq, Israel, Perle, Politics, Shi'ite, sunni
