Iraq's Cabinet to Seek Changes in Draft US Security Deal
By VOA News
21 October 2008
Iraqi officials say the Cabinet is seeking changes to a draft security pact with the United States governing the future U.S. troop presence in Iraq.
An Iraqi government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, says ministers who met Tuesday in Baghdad decided amendments are needed for a deal to gain national acceptance.
Washington and Baghdad have been trying for months to reach an agreement to allow U.S. troops to stay in Iraq after their U.N. mandate expires at the end of December.
The Iraqi spokesman says the Cabinet will meet again in a few days to outline changes to the draft and forward them to U.S. officials. He did not say what kind of changes they are considering.
The draft agreement reached last week calls for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011, unless Baghdad asks them to stay.
It also would give Iraq's government limited authority to prosecute American soldiers who commit serious crimes outside U.S. bases while off-duty.
Iraq's ruling Shi'ite-led coalition expressed reservations about the document on Sunday.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari says Iraq's parliament is unlikely to debate a U.S.-Iraqi security pact before the U.S. presidential election on November 4.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker defended the draft agreement on Monday, saying it will will fully restore Iraq's sovereignty.
The president of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, Massud Barzani, has urged fellow Iraqi leaders to support the proposed agreement. He said failure to ratify the pact would mean a continuation of the status quo.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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