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Backgrounder: U.S. Security Agreements and Iraq

Council on Foreign Relations

Author: Greg Bruno, Staff Writer

Updated: June 6, 2008

Introduction

As policymakers and presidential candidates debate the future U.S. presence in Iraq, the Bush administration is negotiating long-term agreements with Iraq's government that could shape legal, economic, cultural, and security relations. U.S. and other multinational forces have been in Iraq since 2003 under a UN Security Council mandate renewed annually. But Iraq's government has requested that the United Nations not renew the mandate again, forcing negotiations on a detailed legal framework for the U.S. presence in the country.

The Draft Agreements

Details of the draft agreements remain incomplete, and negotiations continue. But aspects of the accords—publicly discussed in recent months—are creating unease among Iraqi lawmakers and regional clerics. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker, testifying before Congress in April 2008, said two separate accords are on the table. The first is a status-of-forces agreement (GlobalSecurity.org), called a SOFA, which would codify legal protections for U.S. military personnel and property in Iraq. Such agreements already govern U.S. military conduct in other long-term deployment zones—including Germany, Japan, and South Korea—and the administration has characterized talks for a SOFA in Iraq as a hopeful step toward stability.

Details of the second accord under discussion are more opaque. Referred to as a "strategic framework agreement," the measure would broadly address issues not covered by the SOFA, including those outlined in a "declaration of principles" document signed by President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in November 2007. Among these issues: the U.S. role in defending Iraq from internal and external threats; its support of political reconciliation; and its efforts to confront terrorist groups. Critics of the measures contend the Bush administration aims to tie the hands of the next president and usurp Iraqi sovereignty, charges the White House vehemently disputes.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.