By NNN-KUNA,
Baghdad : Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has said that the security pact with the US included no secret appendices.
In an address to the nation Tuesday, Al-Maliki expressed frustration over the opposition of some parties to the pact, which was signed on Monday by Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, “even before reading it.”
The long-awaited accord provides for phase-out deployment of the US by the end of 2011, eight years after the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom that toppled Saddam Hussein.
“The political leaders of Iraq have been constantly updated on the progress of the marathon talks on the pact.
“Regrettably, some people voice opposition to the deal without reading it,” the prime minister said.
“I don’t conceal the existence of some reservations but this is the best possible deal. Without the deal, Iraq would continue to suffer from the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
“The Iraqi negotiators proved to have deserved the confidence given to them by the people.
“They made strenuous efforts to reach the deal that will restore Iraq’s full sovereignty and terminate the existence of foreign forces in Iraq.
“The defective sovereignty is the most challenging problem we have inherited from the dictatorial era,” Al-Maliki said.
“The former regime reached power in a fully sovereign country through the ominous coup d’etat of 1968 and was toppled 35 years later, leaving the country with defective sovereignty.
“The security pact provides that the US forces in Iraqi should not carry out any military operations or arrests without full coordination with, and consent of, the Iraqi government,” Al-Maliki said.
He urged political leaders to avoid seeking personal gains through criticizing the deal and place the higher interests of the homeland above all considerations.
Al-Maliki cited the unanimous endorsement of the pact by the Iraqi cabinet as evidence that the deal serves the best interests of the country.