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Hindu (Free subscription) | 17/11/2008
... military bases.According to observers, the deal has the tacit approval of the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most influential Shia cleric in Iraq. However, the agreement has to face two major hurdles before it is finally approved. Iraq’s Parliament has to approve the Cabinet decision by a simple majority. A major Shia bloc, loyal to cleric Moqtada al Sadr opposes the agreement in its present...
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Global Security (Free subscription) | 17/11/2008
... that body's vote to approve the deal.But Iraq's revered top Shi'ite authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani gave his blessing to the new pact, several days ago, saying he would not object if it was approved by a substantial majority in parliament.Analyst Paul Salem of the Beirut-based Carnegie Center for Peace in the Middle East describes the logistical achievement of concluding the new Iraqi-US...
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The Daily Dish (Free subscription) | 17/11/2008
... as possible. The Sadrist militia, meanwhile, is reportedly weakened, and the fact that Ayatollah Ali Sistani has accepted the Iraqi Parliament's jurisdiction on this probably ties Sadr's hands. Noah Shachtman : While this agreement does call for G.I.s to be out by the end of 2011, a well-informed source says, there's nothing stopping the Iraqis from drawing up another document, down the...
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The Irish Times (Free subscription) | 17/11/2008
Iraq cabinet votes to approve US troops dealTHE IRAQI cabinet yesterday approved an agreement authorising the US troop presence in Iraq for another three years after the UN mandate expires at the end of this year, writes Michael JansenGovernment spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said that 27 of 29 ministers present at the meeting voted for the pact, which has been debated since January. "We have always said...
