Maliki Rejects Permanent Occupation

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Iraqi says talks with the United States on a longterm security agreement have reached a “dead end.” Al-Maliki says the talks slumped because each side refused the other’s demands.

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He says the initial framework agreed upon was to have been an accord “between two completely sovereign states.” But he says the U.S. proposals “do not take into consideration Iraq’s sovereignty.”

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The prime minister said Friday “this is not acceptable.” The American demands “violate Iraqi sovereignty. At the end, we reached a dead end.”