Delahunt Hearing Examines Iraqi Opinion On US-Iraq Security Agreement And Timetable For U.S. Withdrawal

07/21/2008

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt today announced that the House Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Wednesday July 23rd to further assess the proposed US-Iraq Security Agreement. 

“The purpose of the hearing is to review the options in the event that there is no agreement,” Delahunt said today. “Both sides have indicated that they would consider an extension of the United Nations Mandate for Iraq, which currently gives our troops legal authorization and protection, but is set to expire before the end of 2008. I am pleased to have Dr. Ayad Allawi, the former Prime Minister of Iraq, join us to provide his assessment of these options.”

With the current U.N. Mandate expiring at the end of 2008, Delahunt has held seven oversight hearings on the proposed U.S.-Iraq long-term security agreement being negotiated to replace it.  In recent months, these hearings have provided insight on how Iraqi parliamentarians view the proposed agreement and its prospects for ratification. With a majority of Iraq’s Parliamentarians now seeking a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, the prospects for ratification are unclear. 

As a result, Delahunt has joined with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro to introduce legislation requiring any agreement to be approved by Congress, and directing the Bush administration to seek a brief extension of the U.N. Mandate. 

Also appearing as witnesses will be former State Department Legal Adviser Michael Matheson, who will review options for the extension of the U.N. Mandate under various Chapters of the UN Charter, and Dr. Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes, who will assess polling data on Iraqi public opinion on the presence of U.S. troops. 

DATE:                  Wednesday, July 23, 2008

TIME:                  2:00 p.m.

LOCATION:       Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building

SUBJECT:            Possible Extension of the U.N. Mandate for Iraq:  Options
 
WITNESSES:     

Steven Kull, Ph.D.
Director
Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA)

Michael J. Matheson, Esq.
Visiting Research Professor of Law
The George Washington University Law School

BRIEFER:                      

The Honorable Ayad Allawi
The Council of Representatives
Republic of Iraq
(Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq)

 

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