February 25, 2010US Senate set to make symbolic Iraq pledge
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Nearly seven years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the US Senate was poised Thursday to approve a symbolic bill vowing to help make the country's March parliamentary elections a success.
In the non-binding measure, the Senate also "reaffirms the United States' strong commitment to building a robust, long-term partnership with Iraq that strengthens Iraq's security, stability, economy, and democracy."
And it "recognizes the United States' clear and enduring interest in partnering with the people of Iraq in building a stable, representative, successful, democratic state."
Democratic Senator John Kerry and Republican Senator John McCain co-wrote the resolution, which could be approved as early as Thursday.
The measure urges US President Barack Obama's administration to make Iraq's March parliamentary elections a success and calls on Iraqi political parties not to cast doubt on the vote's legitimacy or fan sectarian flames.
In a thinly-veiled message to Iran, it urges Iraq's neighbors "to refrain from exercising malign and destabilizing interference in Iraq?s internal affairs; and to allow the people of Iraq to determine their own future."
AP
