Anti-US protesters rally against US-Iraqi pact

BAGHDAD - Tens of thousands of followers of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr rally Saturday in Baghdad in a mass public show of opposition to a U.S.-Iraqi security pact that would extend the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq.

The march came as U.S. and Iraqi leaders face a Dec. 31 deadline to reach agreement on the deal, which would replace an expiring U.N. mandate authorizing the U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

The crowds of mostly young men led by turbaned clerics waved Iraqi flags and chanted slogans including "no, no to the agreement" and "yes to Iraq."

The demonstrators waved pictures of al-Sadr, green Shiite flags and the Iraqi standard as they chanted "no, no to the agreement" and "yes to Iraq" marched from the main Shiite district of Sadr City to the more central Mustansiriyah Square in eastern Baghdad.

"No, No to America," shouted one man, wearing a white Islamic robe as he sat in a wheelchair and clutched a poster of the Iraqi flag. "We prefer death to giving concessions."

Security was tight, with Iraqi security forces manning checkpoints on sidestreets and snipers on rooftops. Iraqi Humvees controlled all the roads leading to the square. Giant Iraqi flags covered nearby buildings.

One banner in English said "We refuse the existence of the U.S. in Iraq."

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and the Bush administration have hammered out a draft agreement after months of bitter negotiations.

But al-Maliki has said he wants Iraqi parliament to sign off on the deal and Iraq's pre-eminent cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has said any accord must have national consensus.

The Shiite leader could be politically isolated if he tries to win parliament's backing in the face of widespread opposition.

Several Sunni and Shiite clerics, who wield considerable influence in shaping public opinion, also spoke out Friday against the draft, complaining that the Iraqi public knows little about the terms.

A copy of the draft accord obtained by The Associated Press specifies that U.S. troops be withdrawn by the end of 2011 and gives Iraq limited authority over off-duty, off-base U.S. soldiers who commit crimes. U.S. Congressional approval is not required for the pact to take effect, but the administration is trying to build maximum political support anyway.

The march was called by al-Sadr after he had to postpone a mass demonstration on April 9 to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. capture of Baghdad. That march had been postponed after many of his followers complained they were not allowed to enter the capital amid fears of violence.