Iraq to hold referendum on US troops pact - "it is an Iraqi issue and the Americans have to understand our requirements."
Johnny Asia
He later insisted that Washington would have to accept the decision to hold
the referendum, telling AFP that "it is an Iraqi issue and the Americans
have to understand our requirements."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081126/wl_mideast_afp/iraqusmilitary_081126210436
Iraq to hold referendum on US troops pact
by Salam Faraj Salam Faraj - Wed Nov 26, 4:04 pm ET
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq plans to hold a July referendum on a controversial
military pact allowing US troops to remain for another three years that
parliament is expected to adopt on Thursday in a delayed vote.
"It is not only the Iraqi parliament that has a role in overseeing this
agreement , but the Iraqi people," the country's top negotiator Muwafaq
al-Rubaie told Al-Arabiya television, adding that the referendum would be on
July 30.
Rubaie, who also serves as Iraq's national security advisor, spoke to the
Dubai-based network shortly after parliament delayed a vote on the pact
until Thursday amid a flurry of last-minute talks.
He later insisted that Washington would have to accept the decision to hold
the referendum, telling AFP that "it is an Iraqi issue and the Americans
have to understand our requirements."
The 275-member assembly had been expected to endorse the agreement on
Wednesday, but its approval could have diminished importance if the
agreement is subjected to a popular vote seven months after coming into
force.
"If the Iraqi people reject the agreement in the referendum the government
will have two choices, either to cancel it or renegotiate it," Reza Jawad
Taqi, an MP from parliament's main Shiite bloc, told AFP.
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