Minister: Security-pact failure would be dire

BAGHDAD — Iraq's defense minister warned Saturday that the government would declare a state of emergency if there was no agreement to keep U.S. forces in the country past the end of the year.

The threat by Abdul Qadir Muhammed Jassim appeared aimed at pressuring parliament to approve a security accord allowing U.S. troops to stay three more years.

Jassim has been a strong supporter of the agreement, which would replace a United Nations mandate that expires Dec. 31. But his language Saturday was unusually stark. He said at a news conference that if there were a sudden U.S. withdrawal, "we shall wait for a strike against us, in our midst."

"There are armed groups that believe they are stronger than the security forces," Jassim said. He noted bluntly that some political parties maintain armed wings and suggested that foreign intelligence services were trying to intervene in Iraq's affairs.

He did not give specifics, but U.S. officials have accused Iran of supporting armed groups in Iraq. Iran has denied the charge.

The Iraqi cabinet approved the bilateral pact last Sunday, indicating that it has the support of the leaders of most major parties. But the agreement was the subject of raucous debate in parliament last week. On Friday, thousands of supporters of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr marched in Baghdad against the pact.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is seeking a strong vote in favor of the accord to prevent it from being used against him in upcoming elections. He also wants to satisfy a demand by Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, for "national consensus" on the agreement.

The vote on the agreement was originally set for Monday but was moved to Wednesday because parties wanted more time to review it, officials said. Parliament is scheduled to adjourn this week to allow lawmakers to make the hajj pilgrimage; they are not expected back until mid-December.

U.S. military officials have said they will have to shut down their operations and prepare to leave Iraq if there is no legal authorization for them to stay past Dec. 31.

Some parliamentarians have expressed concern about concluding an agreement with the Bush administration. Jassim said he had received documents that said the Obama administration would comply with the accord.

The defense minister noted that Iraq's air force and navy were still heavily reliant on U.S. support.

The al-Sadr group, with 30 seats in the 275-strong parliament, has led opposition to the pact. Al-Sadr has threatened to end a cease-fire he has imposed on his militia if the agreement passes. The 44-seat Sunni bloc has been seeking political concessions from al-Maliki in exchange for its support.

Special correspondents Qais Mizher and K.I. Ibrahim contributed to this report.