Thousands of Iraqis protest U.S. security pact

Sermon by hard-line cleric al-Sadr brands America 'the enemy of Islam'

BAGHDAD - Thousands of followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr converged on a central Baghdad square Friday for a mass prayer to protest a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security pact.

The demonstrators waved Iraqi flags and green Shiite banners, chanting, "No, no to the American agreement!" and, "No, no to the agreement of humiliation!"

Iraq's parliament is expected to vote Monday on the plan to keep U.S. forces in Iraq for another three years. But the noisy opposition by the Sadrists indicates that even if it is approved, the deal could remain divisive in a country struggling for reconciliation. Opponents view the security deal as a surrender to U.S. interests despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, saying the pact would eventually lead to full sovereignty.

The protest was being held at Firdous Square, where U.S. Marines tore down a statue of Saddam Hussein in one of the iconic images of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Organizers placed an effigy of President George W. Bush holding a sign that said, "The security agreement ... shame and humiliation" on the pedestal near a sculpture that replaced the Saddam statue.

Many protesters arrived at the square on foot or by bus and carried prayer rugs, pieces of cardboard or newspapers for the mass prayer.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27835859/

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{ The Maliki Government in Iraq is corrupt and useless. They have proven over and over that they are incapable of leading. Even if this "security pact" is agreed on by Parliament it will never be accepted by the people of Iraq and whatever government ends up taking over and running the place will declare it null and void. It's so typical of the senseless game that the Bush administration has played for years with the puppets in Baghdad. it's a matter of saying "You pretend to lead and we will pretend to support you." It's all done with smoke and mirrors ands signifies nothing!

Once Obama gets all our troops out of Iraq the real politics will come into play. We have NO INFLUENCE on how that will play out. All the myriad of political, religious and tribal factors will be unleashed and sooner or later a real government of some sort will emerge as a winner. If I had to bet on the outcome I would continue to say the likely result will be a fractured Iraq broken into three or four separate states governed by theocracies or tribal strongmen. The Kurds are likely to be as close to a friendly democracy as one can expect in the region. That is..........unless the Turks destroy them.

The Neocons dreams have ended in complete chaos and nothing can save their legacy. There is nothing we can do to bring about peace and prosperity in the area. All we can do is get out and see what happens. All those lives lost, American and Iraqi...........for what?}