Senior MP: Iraqis to End US Interference, Deployment

A senior Iraqi legislator strongly criticized the US meddling in his country’s internal affairs as well as the presence of thousands of American forces.

“Some moves have been initiated in the Iraqi parliament to end the US interference in Iraq’s internal affairs and sovereignty,” Thamer al-Zayban, the representative of al-Sadiqoun coalition at the Iraqi parliament, told the Arabic-language al-Ahd news website on Wednesday.

He underlined the necessity for implementation of the Iraqi parliament’s approval which calls for ending the US military deployment.

“All legal ways are before us to prevent the US meddling in our country’s affairs,” al-Zayban said.

The Iraqi parliament called on the government in January to work to end all foreign troop presence as a backlash grew after the killing of a top Iranian military commander and an Iraqi militia leader in a US strike in Baghdad.

A resolution passed by a special session of parliament said the government should cancel its request for assistance from a US-led coalition.

In relevant remarks last week, A senior member of the Iraqi parliament’s security and defense commission warned that the US plot to prolong the presence of its soldiers in the country under the cover of NATO is against the legislative body’s approval which calls for withdrawal of all foreign forces.

“The parliament will stand against any agreement or negotiations between Baghdad and the US on delivering the US forces’ mission to the NATO and such approaches and agreements with the US are against the bill approved by the Iraqi lawmakers about the expulsion of foreign military forces from the country,” Karim al-Mahmadawi told the Arabic-language al-Ma’aloumeh news website.

He added that the parliament’s approval is crystal clear and underlines the necessity for withdrawal of all foreign forces, noting that there is no need to other agreements.

Mahmadawi said that there is no need to the presence of 5,000 US forces in Iraq as claimed by Washington for training purposes.