Iraqi Sunni lawmaker questions SOFA intent

BAGHDAD, June 23 (UPI) -- A Sunni lawmaker Monday accused the United States of attempting to use Iraq as a military staging ground in the pending status of forces agreement.

Washington and Baghdad are in negotiations to draft a security arrangement to take the place of the U.N. mandate for Iraq that expires in December. U.S. officials set a July 31 deadline to ratify the agreement.

"The Iraqi-U.S. agreement contains several items that impinge upon the sovereignty of Iraq, including the right of the U.S. forces in Iraq to attack any nation and raid any Iraqi house and arrest people without prior permission from the Iraqi government," said Khalaf al-Alyan of the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front.

Labid Abbawi of the foreign affairs ministry, however, said the draft agreement included no such provisions, Voices of Iraq reported.

"This item does not exist in the agreement because it simply runs counter to the policies of both Baghdad and Washington governments," he said.

The status of forces agreement requires the approval of the Iraqi Parliament but not the U.S. Congress.