ID :
192816
Mon, 07/04/2011 - 15:33
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/192816
The shortlink copeid
Spokesman Rejects Reports on Extension of US Military Mission in Iraq
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraqi Government Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh categorically denied speculations that Baghdad is going to strike a deal with Washington to extend the presence of the US troops in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline.
"The report is a sheer lie since no action has been taken in this regard and the government of Iraq hasn't singed such a deal with the US," Dabbagh told FNA in Baghdad on Monday.
He further stressed the strong popular support for the Iraqi government, and noted, "In case such an agreement existed, we would inform the Iraqi parliament and nation as we hide nothing."
US Ambassador to Iraq F. Jeffrey has recently said that the US is ready to keep thousands of troops in Iraq beyond the end of the year if asked.
The Washington Post quoted Jeffrey as saying that the Obama administration would consider a request to keep some of the roughly 46,000 US troops here.
Most US forces are scheduled to leave by year's end as part of a three-year security agreement, while about 17,000 US diplomats and private contractors would stay back.
The US has pressed senior Iraqi officials to revise their decision on the US pullout and demand Washington to keep its troops in the country beyond their scheduled departure in the yearend.
Iraqi state officials as well as religious and political figures have all condemned the US attempts for extending the mission of its troops in the country.
Late in April, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that Iraq no more needs the US forces to protect its internal security, and underlined that his government will not bow to the pressures exerted on Baghdad to accept an extended US military mission in the country.
Senior Iraqi Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Kazzem al-Hosseini al-Haeri condemned the attempts made by Washington to prolong its military deployment in Iraq, and issued a Fatwa (religious decree) against the presence of the US forces in the country after the end of 2011.
"The extended mission of the infidel occupiers in Iraq even for one single day after the mentioned date (as cited in the security agreement) is haram (religiously forbidden)," the Grand Ayatollah declared in his decree.
However, western media reports are trying to convince the world public opinion that Iraq's top political leaders are preparing to ask the United States to keep forces in Iraq into next year.
"The report is a sheer lie since no action has been taken in this regard and the government of Iraq hasn't singed such a deal with the US," Dabbagh told FNA in Baghdad on Monday.
He further stressed the strong popular support for the Iraqi government, and noted, "In case such an agreement existed, we would inform the Iraqi parliament and nation as we hide nothing."
US Ambassador to Iraq F. Jeffrey has recently said that the US is ready to keep thousands of troops in Iraq beyond the end of the year if asked.
The Washington Post quoted Jeffrey as saying that the Obama administration would consider a request to keep some of the roughly 46,000 US troops here.
Most US forces are scheduled to leave by year's end as part of a three-year security agreement, while about 17,000 US diplomats and private contractors would stay back.
The US has pressed senior Iraqi officials to revise their decision on the US pullout and demand Washington to keep its troops in the country beyond their scheduled departure in the yearend.
Iraqi state officials as well as religious and political figures have all condemned the US attempts for extending the mission of its troops in the country.
Late in April, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that Iraq no more needs the US forces to protect its internal security, and underlined that his government will not bow to the pressures exerted on Baghdad to accept an extended US military mission in the country.
Senior Iraqi Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Kazzem al-Hosseini al-Haeri condemned the attempts made by Washington to prolong its military deployment in Iraq, and issued a Fatwa (religious decree) against the presence of the US forces in the country after the end of 2011.
"The extended mission of the infidel occupiers in Iraq even for one single day after the mentioned date (as cited in the security agreement) is haram (religiously forbidden)," the Grand Ayatollah declared in his decree.
However, western media reports are trying to convince the world public opinion that Iraq's top political leaders are preparing to ask the United States to keep forces in Iraq into next year.
