WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, Congressman Bill Delahunt, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight will host a briefing with members of the Iraqi Parliament to hear their assessment of  the proposed U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement.  

The briefing was organized several weeks ago, but gains added significance given the growing and widespread protests in Iraq over the scope of the agreement.  Wednesday’s briefing is the latest in a series of briefings and hearings on the subject which Delahunt initiated last year.  The new security agreement is intended to replace the current United Nations Security Council resolutions which authorize the United States to engage in combat operations in Iraq.  The UN resolutions will expire at the end of the year.

This will be the first time that the United States Congress will hear first hand from members of the Iraqi Parliament on the proposed agreement. Delahunt issued formal invitations earlier this year. 

Witnesses at previous oversight hearings organized by Delahunt testified that the Congress must approve any long term security agreement between the two nations, but the Bush Administration has disputed this finding.  In March, Delahunt joined with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) to introduce the “Protect Our Troops and Our Constitution Act,” which calls for the extension of the UN resolutions for a brief period of time so that a new agreement can be negotiated by the incoming administration.  The proposal would cut off funding for any new agreement negotiated by the Bush Administration that authorizes U.S. forces to engage in combat on behalf of the Government of Iraq without approval by Congress. 

WHO:  House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight

WHERE:  Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building

DATE:      Wednesday June 4, 2008

TIME:      2:00 p.m.

SUBJECT:  “The Future of U.S.-Iraqi Relations:  The Perspective of the Iraqi Parliament”

WITNESSES:                 

The Honorable Nadeem Al-Jaberi

The Council of Representatives of Iraq

The Honorable Khalaf Al-Ulayyan

The Council of Representatives of Iraq

 

Biographies:

Sheikh Khalaf Al-Ulayyan.    Sheikh Khalaf Al-Ulayyan is a member of the Iraqi Parliament, founder of the National Dialogue Council, (a nationalist Sunni Islamist political party), and representative of the Sunni Accord Front. Sheikh Al-Ulayyan is an influential tribal leader. He is against sectarian politics and partitioning and stresses the importance of ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq. He supports a strong central Iraqi government and nationalized energy sector.

The Iraqi National Dialogue Council was initially established as an umbrella organization of approximately ten smaller Sunni parties to take part in the 2005 Iraqi Constitution drafting process. The Iraqi National Dialogue Council is the smallest of three parties that compose the Sunni Accord Front (Tawafuq) coalition. The three parties of the Front are: Mohsen Abd al-Hamid's Iraqi Islamic Party, the General Council for the People of Iraq led by senior Sunni cleric Adnan al-Dulaimi, and, a powerful bloc of Sunni parties headed by Khalaf al-Ulayyan.

The Front has increased Sunni representation in a parliament previously dominated by Shia and Kurdish parties, winning 44 seats in December 2005 elections. It is a nationalist party that has stressed the importance of ending the U.S. "occupation", boosting Iraq's national identity and setting up a committee to review the new constitution.

Dr. Nadim Al-Jaberi.    Dr. Nadim Al-Jaberi is a member of the Iraqi parliament, and co-founder of the al-Fadhila Party, a nationalist Shiite political party based in the south of Iraq. Dr. Al-Jaberi was a political science professor at the University of Baghdad. He is the author of 15 books and 30 papers about political issues. Dr. Al-Jaberi is against a long-term presence of any foreign troops in Iraq, against partitioning Iraq, and in favor of maintaining a strong central government.

Al-Fadhila is a political party that follows ayatollah Muhammad Ya`qubi, a student of Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, and thus represents a branch of the Sadrist Movement. The party is, however, not directly affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr and is in fact a rival to his branch of the Sadrists. Its support comes mostly from the Shi'a poor in the south of the country. Its current secretary general is Abdelrahim Al-Husseini who in May 2006 replaced Nadim al-Jaberi.

Al-Fadhila took part in Iraqi legislative election in January 2005 and December 2005 as part of the United Iraqi Alliance list. Following the December 2005 legislative election the party holds 15 seats in the Iraqi parliament. In March 2007, the party withdrew from the ruling Shi'ite Coalition and has vowed to continue as an independent block. Nadim al-Jaberi announced that the move was caused by increasing sectarianism in Iraqi politics.

 

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