U.S.-Iraq agreement sparks protests

BAGHDAD, May 30 (UPI) -- Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr Friday called for protests in the streets of Baghdad to voice opposition to a pending strategic agreement with the United States.

The United States and Iraq are negotiating the details of a legal framework outlining the role of the U.S. military in Iraq when a U.N. mandate on the conflict expires in December.

On Tuesday, Sadr expressed outrage over the arrangement, saying the agreement was "against the interests of the Iraqi people."

Sadr's rival, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, who heads the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, said the idea that the United States would establish permanent military bases in Iraq is a violation of Iraqi national sovereignty, al-Jazeera said Friday.

David Satterfield, the top adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said there were no such plans in the current draft of the framework.

"The (status of forces) agreement and the strategic frameworks agreement will make explicit that there is no desire for -- indeed, there is a rejection of -- permanent bases. We could not be clearer on this point," he said.

Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Samir Sumaidaie said the agreement would not tie the hands of any future government, whether in Iraq or in the United States.

He also said officials could terminate or renegotiate the legal framework after two years.