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Iraq opposes any clause letting US stay after 2011
Baghdad (AFP) Oct 30, 2008 Baghdad wants to delete any reference in a security pact with Washington to the possibility of US troops staying in Iraq after 2011, an MP close to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Thursday. The demand is one of five amendments proposed by Iraq, Ali al-Adib, a member of the Shiite Dawa party, told AFP. "The Iraqi government wants to remove from the agreement any mention of a possible extension of the American presence in Iraq," he said. The controversial document, which negotiators have laboured over for months, is supposed to be in place by the end of the year to set new guidelines for US military operations in Iraq after the expiry of the present UN mandate. US President George W. Bush on Wednesday promised to consider Baghdad's proposed changes to the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) but warned against shifts that risked "undermining" the accord. The draft pact, which has triggered fierce opposition in Iraq, says US forces will withdraw from towns and neighbourhoods by the end of June next year and from the whole country by the end of 2011. In the latest version, clause four of section 25, dealing with the withdrawal of American troops, allows "the possibility for each party to ask the other to put back or bring forward the date of withdrawal." It says any such change must "have the approval of both sides". Bush, who leaves office January 20, discussed the agreement with Maliki on Monday. He had hoped to have the final accord by July 31, but now is all but certain not to see it approved before the November 4 election to choose his successor. Iraq also wants changes to the rules on immunity for American soldiers, another of the thorny issues of the agreement. "We want the joint US-Iraqi command and not just American forces to decide whether or not a soldier suspected of crime was on a mission," Adib said. Clause nine of section 12 of the most recent version grants immunity from Iraqi law to American soldiers if they were on their base or on a mission when the crime was committed. Adib said another major amendment calls for Iraq to have the right to monitor and search American goods entering or leaving the country. Clause one of section 15 in the current text says Iraq will have no right of search when goods, equipment or technology belonging to the American army or its contractors is being imported, re-exported, transported or is in use. The MP said Iraq also wants a redrafting of some points in the Arab language version of the agreement, because their meaning is not clear. Maliki will submit a revised text to Washington after including the amendments sought by his ministers. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Bush warns against 'undermining' Iraq-US pact
Washington (AFP) Oct 29, 2008US President George W. Bush on Wednesday promised to consider Baghdad's proposed changes to a controversial US-Iraq security pact, but warned against shifts that risked "undermining" the accord. |
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