If you want to know what's going on in Iraq, and to get a glimpse into the future, you monitor Friday prayers. This Friday, the clerics were speaking out about the US-Iraqi security pact under discussion at the moment. Their concerns?
The key concern appears to be the lack of consultation and transparency about the security pact and the negotiations. Politicians are elected to take decisions on behalf their constituents, but on a matter as significant as this there has to be more consultation. How long do US troops remain in Iraq? Do they leave behind 'forward operating bases' to protect commercial interests? Who are the US troops accountable to? What of the hundreds of private security contractors in Iraq?
So Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and others have spoken out and called Iraqis to stand up and speak out. Did the Iraqi Government and the US did not anticipate this? Or did they judge it insignificant? The drop in violence in Iraq is attributed at least in part to Muqtada al-Sadr's brigades standing down, while Al-Sistani influence is unparalleled in Shiite areas of Iraq. Religious leaders supercede politicians in Iraq.
Expect tense times ahead of the 31st December deadline for reaching an agreement...
The key concern appears to be the lack of consultation and transparency about the security pact and the negotiations. Politicians are elected to take decisions on behalf their constituents, but on a matter as significant as this there has to be more consultation. How long do US troops remain in Iraq? Do they leave behind 'forward operating bases' to protect commercial interests? Who are the US troops accountable to? What of the hundreds of private security contractors in Iraq?
So Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and others have spoken out and called Iraqis to stand up and speak out. Did the Iraqi Government and the US did not anticipate this? Or did they judge it insignificant? The drop in violence in Iraq is attributed at least in part to Muqtada al-Sadr's brigades standing down, while Al-Sistani influence is unparalleled in Shiite areas of Iraq. Religious leaders supercede politicians in Iraq.
Expect tense times ahead of the 31st December deadline for reaching an agreement...
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