Majority Shiite party undecided on troop agreement

The fate of an agreement that would keep U.S. troops here for three more years rests with Iraq’s largest Shiite party, which must choose between its two main partners: the United States and Iran.

Most lawmakers are waiting for that party, the Supreme Islamic Iraq Council, to take a position on the agreement, which parliament must approve by the end of the year. Only then will smaller groups, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s own Shiite party, commit to the deal or oppose it.

For the moment, all the parties are off the hook. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Monday that the government is still not satisfied and wants more talks on specifics.
But once both the Iraqi and American governments declare a draft final, it will be the moment of truth for the Supreme Council.

It will have to choose between the Shiite-dominated neighbor that nurtured it during Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated regime and a superpower that helped it spearhead the Shiite rise to power after ousting the dictator in 2003.