SOFA opposition mounts

BAGHDAD, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The Iraqi security arrangement with Washington that calls for a U.S. troop withdrawal by 2011 is a disaster for the country, a Sadrist official said Tuesday.

The Iraqi Cabinet approved the bilateral accord Sunday after nearly a year of negotiations with Washington. The measure is slated to go before the 275-member Parliament Nov. 24 and then on to a three-member presidential council for ratification.

Salah al-Obeidi, the spokesman for the Sadrist Movement of anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, said in an interview with the Iranian Press TV that the agreement was not in line with Iraqi interests.

"Nothing is guaranteed about the U.S. style of work inside and outside the Iraqi cities," he said. "It is a disaster for the Iraqis."

Though Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went on national television Tuesday in support of the measure, several blocs in the Iraqi government, including the Sunni Islamic Party, the largest in Parliament, expressed concern over the agreement.

Meanwhile, Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani voiced his opposition to the security arrangement with Washington, saying its various drafts suggest it needs further vetting by the Iraqi government, the Iranian Student News Agency said.

Larijani noted a timetable suggested by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama for a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces within 16 months was more appropriate.