Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said yesterday that there are no
secret terms in the security agreement with Washington, confirming that Iraq
would not be used to attack neighboring countries.
In his televised address, Maliki accused politicians, without naming them, of
misleading Iraqi people by saying his government was "working behind doors."
"What I want to say that there is no secret terms in this pact, and those who
oppose the agreement have spoke out against it even before they read its text,"
Maliki said, defending the security pact that his cabinet signed a day before.
"Frankly to say, we have some remarks against the agreement, but we think it
represents a strong start for independence of Iraq within three years," he said.
In his speech, Maliki was keen to clarify the circumstances which his
government faced during the negotiations with US side.
"We were facing difficult alternatives," Maliki said, pointing out that his
government was either to demand extension for UN mandate and the foreign troops
to stay in Iraq or to negotiate with the United States to gain sovereignty.
In a signal to reassure the neighboring countries, Maliki confirmed that the
pact stipulated that "Iraq would not be a route or a launch pad for foreign
troops to attack any neighboring country."
On Monday, Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and the US ambassador to
Iraq Ryan Crocker initially signed the long-awaited security pact which would
allow US forces to remain in the country for another three years.
On Sunday, the Iraqi cabinet almost unanimously approved the Status of Forces
Agreement (SOFA) and another agreement of bilateral cooperation in various
fields between the two countries.
The SOFA draft pact stated, among other things, that the US troops will
withdraw from Iraq's cities, towns and villages by June 30 next year to their
bases and will leave the country on December 31, 2011.
For months, the two countries were at odds over the agreement, which the US
needs as a legitimate support for the station of its troops beyond 2008 after
the current UN mandate ends on December 31.