US Wants A Deal To Bypass The Iraqi Parliament

The Iraqi government may not be consulted over the proposed US-Iraq status of forces agreement according to a leaked draft. The draft states, "This agreement goes into effect on the day that diplomatic memos confirming all constitutional procedures have been met in both countries are exchanged." This would allow Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to accept the agreement without referring it to parliament first - despite months of assurances that lawmakers would be consulted. The clause also reflects the Bush Administration view that any agreement with the Iraqi government would be a bilateral executive agreement between two countries and would not be a matter of discussion in Congress.

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