Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Sistani: Iraq's leading Shiite

religious authority: He has no qualms about the security

deal with America, if that's what the Iraqi people want.

 

 

Al-Sabaah, Iraq

Ayatollah Sistani Offers Blessing to U.S.-Iraq Security Deal

 

"Grand Ayatollah Sistani entrusts Iraqis and their political leaders to decide on what to agree to and rely upon. He had no objections to anything we achieve through the efforts of Iraq's officials and institutions, provided that all segments of the Iraqi people participate and that it's constitutional. In addition, he said that it mustn't be something imposed on the Iraqi people.

 

-- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

 

Translated By James Jacobson

 

October 11, 2008

 

Iraq - Al-Sabaah - Original Article (Arabic)

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki after a meeting with Iraq's top Shiite cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in Najaf on May 22. Days ago, Maliki obtained Sistani's approval for the long-term security agreement with the United States, as long as it is approved by Iraq's 'constitutionally-instituted institutions' and is not imposed on the Iraqi people.

 

BBC NEWS VIDEO: Interviews with Iraqis about the influence of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Sistani, from 2004, 00:15:20 RealVideo

BAGHDAD AND AL-NAJAF: In a meeting yesterday that lasted about two hours, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki discussed current developments in the Iraqi arena with religious authority Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Sistani, at Sistani's residence in Najaf. [Sistani is the preeminent Shiite cleric in Iraq ].

 

Topping the agenda was the draft security agreement with the United States government.

 

Informed sources revealed yesterday to Al-Sabaah that the government received a new draft of the security convention two days ago. Both President Jalal al-Talabani and Prime Minister Maliki are very clear in pointing out that Washington had made concessions on several points of contention. At a press conference in Najaf after his meeting with Grand Ayatollah Sistani, al-Maliki said that talks on the security agreement with the United States are in their final stages, but he acknowledged that there are points that still require research and deliberation, and that "the final review still isn’t complete."

 

Regarding the religious authority's opinion on the deal, al-Maliki said: "Grand Ayatollah Sistani entrusts Iraqis and their political leaders to decide on what to agree to and rely upon.” Al-Maliki stressed that Ayatollah Sistani, "had no objections to anything we achieve through the efforts of Iraq's officials and institutions, provided that all segments of the Iraqi people participate and that it is constitutional. In addition, he said that it mustn't be something imposed on the Iraqi people.”

 

CLICK TO VISIT GRAND AYATOLLAH SAYYID ALI SISTANI'S PERSONAL WEB SITE 

 

The prime minister revealed some of the progress and positive points made in the ongoing discussions with the U.S., notably in regard to limiting the duration of the presence of American forces in Iraq. This will be completely terminated by the end of 2011, and in addition, American forces will be completely withdrawn from Iraq's cities and towns by the middle of next year [2009]. 

 

He added that one of the other points of progress on the convention related to ending the outstanding international sanctions against Iraq, and he wondered aloud, "should we not expect the rest of Iraq's frozen funds to be released?" [Refers to sanctions as a result of the First Gulf War ].

 

At the same time, he pointed out that the issue of the immunity of U.S. soldiers and American civilians remain a point of disagreement. Al-Maliki said that he and Ayatollah Sistani had reviewed all of the issues related to Iraq's reconstruction, in light of the successes and victories achieved in the areas of security and politics. He extrapolated on this by saying: "We discussed our overall vision in regard to advances in the political process, developments in security and the trends in the area of reconstruction.”

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The prime minister went on to assure people that great progress had been made in this respect, pointing to the large number of investment contracts that have been signed, and he promised that the country would soon witness a major turnaround due to the surge in construction and development in so many areas. He also confirmed that, "Ayatollah Sistani expressed great satisfaction upon hearing of these developments, and for our part, we [the political leadership] greatly benefitted from his generosity and guidance.”

 

On the other hand, al-Maliki revealed that the government is awaiting the arrival of a delegation from the Kurdistan region, to discuss problems between the two sides in regard to a return to the Constitution and insuring the rights of all within the framework of Iraq's new political system. He stressed that, "the federalism that we talk of must be real and operate within the framework of the Constitution … and when we talk of partnership, we mean a constitutional partnership - and not a partnership at the expense of the Constitution.”

 

Turning to the government's success in the area of foreign policy, al-Maliki said: "the openness of other Arab countries in the fields of politics, economics, scientific exchange, and planning for further reconstruction, has come about due to the elimination of obstacles to improved Iraqi relations with the Arab world.

 

In the meantime, Muhammad Naji Al-Samarai, a member of the Council of Representatives [Iraq's parliament] from the United Iraqi Alliance has revealed details of a five-way-summit that will soon be held, which will include the president [Jalal Talabani - a Kurd] and his two deputies, in addition to Prime Minister al-Maliki and the Kurdistan regional president [Masoud Barzani ], to discuss the outstanding issues between the central government and the Kurdistan Region.

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Al-Samarrai told Al-Sabaah that the security agreement with the United States would also be an important topic of the talks. The deputy, who is the executive secretary of the United Iraqi Alliance [Iraq's most powerful coalition], predicted that the Iraqi and American sides would reach a final version of the security agreement before the end of the year, and that it would guarantee Iraq's full rights and sovereignty. But he pointed out that in the absence of an agreement, there were several other options, including a popular referendum on the draft of the agreement.

 

Al-Samarrai also stressed how important it is that the agreement not contain secret provisions for the purpose of securing its approval, emphasizing that the issue of jurisdiction of U.S. forces is a "red line" that cannot in any way be overstepped, now that such an idea has been rejected by most of Iraq's leaders and political blocs. 

 

CLICK HERE FOR ARABIC VERSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US October 16, 11:19pm]