Iraqis really want us to leave

Hundreds of Shiites protest US-Iraqi security deal

BAGHDAD - Hundreds of followers of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took to the streets after Friday prayers in Shiite areas to protest plans for a longterm security pact between Iraq and the United States.

Iraqi officials and lawmakers have opposed the proposed security pact, which would provide a legal framework for the presence of U.S.-led forces after a U.N. mandate expires later this year. The opposition claims it infringes Iraq's independence and sovereignty.

Sadrist Sheik Assad al-Nassiri warned the agreement, which faces a July 31 target date for completion, will "humiliate Iraqis, rob the Iraqi government of its sovereignty and give the occupier the upper hand."

"We do believe that the presence of the occupation is the main reason behind all of our crises, and unfortunately we hear some of our government officials calling on the occupation forces to stay," he said during a sermon in Kufa.

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