November 17, 2008 (LPAC)--With only 28 out of 37 cabinet ministers present, the Iraqi cabinet of President Nouri al-Maliki voted 27-1 to approve the latest version of the status of forces agreement, allowing U.S. troops to remain deployed in Iraq after Jan. 1, 2009, when the United Nations mandate expires. But the agreement still has to be passed by the 276-member Iraqi parliament, where major factions, such as the Shi'ite faction that follows cleric Muqtada al-Sadr oppose the continuing presence of the U.S. military occupation. According to Iraqi government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, the parliament will debate and vote by the end of November. The spokesman's spin was that since all different factions in the cabinet voted to OK the pact, it will also be voted up in Parliament. According to AP and the Christian Science Monitor, the broad outline of the agreement is that U.S. troops will withdraw from Iraqi cities by the summer of 2009, and all U.S. troops will leave Iraq by 2011--within three years.

It is clear that obtaining such an agreement is a high priority for the White House, which wants to sign such a victory pact between al-Maliki and Bush before the end of the year. But--all is not as well as the spin-doctors are saying. Sayyed Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Council of Shi'ites in Iraq, one of the major factions, did not attend the leadership meeting with Al-Maliki before the vote was held. Al-Hakim has been insisting for months that one item that must be included is that Iraq cannot be used by the U.S. as a base for attacks against Iran. Unless this is specified, major opposition in the parliament is expected.