Sunni bloc demands concessions to support US pact

BAGHDAD — A key Sunni bloc demanded Tuesday a national referendum on the Iraqi-US security pact and other concessions in exchange for its support for the agreement, something the government keenly wants to give the plan a broad victory in an upcoming parliamentary vote.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Cabinet has already approved the agreement that would allow American troops to stay in Iraq through the end of 2011.

But the ruling coalition's main Shiite and Kurdish partners would only muster a slight majority in the 275-seat legislature if the largest Sunni Arab group, also represented in the ruling coalition, remains opposed to the agreement. The vote is scheduled for Wednesday.

The 44-seat Sunni bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front, says it would only support the agreement if the government meets its demand to put the same deal to a vote in a nationwide referendum in 2009.

It also wants the government to accept a package of reforms designed to give the minority Sunni Arabs a bigger say in the running of the country and better representation in the security forces.

"The national division over the agreement is very clear," said Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab who leads the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest of three groups in the Accordance Front. "Consensus appears to be very difficult, if not impossible."

U.S. State Department adviser David Satterfield, who led the American team that negotiated the deal, was at parliament Tuesday to meet Deputy Speaker Khalid al-Attiyah, a senior Shiite lawmaker who is a key figure in negotiations with the Sunni bloc.

Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, met with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. Ray Odierno, the top American soldier in Iraq. If parliament passes the deal, the three-man presidency must then ratify it.

The White House expressed hope parliament would approve the pact.

"If you look at the violence that took place there yesterday — that was indiscriminate and killed many people — it reminds us that the Iraqis have come a long way," White House press secretary Dana Perino told reporters. "But they're not quite there yet to be able to take care of all their security needs on their own, and they continue to need our support."

At least 22 people were killed Monday in three bombings in Baghdad, according to Iraqi officials.

If the agreement passes with a narrow majority, it could prompt country's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to publicly express his dissatisfaction. That would likely sink the deal.