Part 2
Jasim addresses the reporting on Iraq by the Western press and the Arab media…

Now today the Shi’ite United Iraqi Alliance and, in particular, SIIC rejected the SOFA draft agreement! As Aswat Al-Iraq reported…

7 security pact paragraphs need amendment – SIIC official

Seven paragraphs in the security deal planned to be signed with Washington need to be amended, a key member of Shiite leader Abdelaziz al-Hakim’s Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) said on Sunday.

“There is no attitude taken in advance regarding the Iraq-U.S. long-term security pact but there are some paragraphs that have to do with Iraq’s full sovereignty and security that need to be amended,” Sheikh Jalal al-Din al-Saghir, the leader of the SIIC parliamentary bloc, told Aswat al-Iraq.

The Iraqi and U.S. sides have been negotiating over a long-term security agreement to organize the presence of the U.S. army on Iraqi territories as its international mandate is due to expire late this year.

“These points have to do with the judicial jurisdiction, prisons, the nature of U.S. mail and the nature of the Iraqi government’s monitoring over it,” Saghir said.

The ‘nature of U.S. mail’ threw me for a bit… But, Roads to Iraq clarified it…

At least we know one “new” disputed-point as reported on Al-Qabas saying:

Iraq’s right to inspect [U.S.] cargos to/from Iraq is at the heart of the discussions, and if these cargos contain weapons that could hurt Iraq, despite the U.S. promised not to introduce weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq.

The WaPo covered some of the other contentious issues…

The United Iraqi Alliance is also insisting that Iraq have a bigger role in determining whether U.S. soldiers accused of wrongdoing are subjected to prosecution in Iraqi courts.

If the conditions are not met, "I cannot see that this agreement will see the light," said Sami al-Askeri, a Shiite parliamentarian and political adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.[...]

"Some people say, what’s going on?" he said. "This article opens the door to the next government" of Iraq to lengthen the U.S. troops’ stay, he said. Iraq holds national elections next year.

On the issue of legal jurisdiction, the draft accord says that U.S. forces can be subject to Iraqi law if they are accused of a major crime while outside their bases and off-duty. American troops rarely leave their bases when not on official missions, so it would appear that soldiers would rarely, if ever, be subject to Iraqi law.

Askeri said that lawmakers did not want U.S. military authorities to make the decision on when a soldier was considered off-duty. That determination should be made by a joint committee, and if they deadlocked, it should go to an Iraqi court, he said. The Pentagon insists on having sole legal jurisdiction over U.S. troops in most foreign countries.

As the Wapo notes, and, I’ve mentioned before…

Kurdish lawmakers, who make up the second biggest block in parliament, support a deal. Leaders of Sunni blocs have not publicly expressed a strong opinion for or against the proposed agreement, saying they need time to examine the draft.

Discussions about contentious bills have stalled in Iraq’s parliament for months amid bickering and deadlocks. Many lawmakers are likely to be particularly sensitive to the potential political ramifications of their stance on the agreement because it is expected to come up for a vote weeks before provincial elections.[...]

"We continue to be in discussion with the Iraqis and the Iraqis continue to discuss this amongst themselves," said Susan Ziadeh, the spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. "That’s to be expected. We’ll see where these discussions lead."

Stick a fork in it… It’s over until after the our presidential elections, and, probably until after their Provincial elections too…