Iraqi Officials: Revised Draft Security Pact Given to US
By VOA News
29 October 2008
U.S. President George Bush says he is hopeful and confident a security pact on the future of American troops in Iraq will be passed.
Mr. Bush said at the White House that amendments to the pact were received from Iraq Wednesday. He said the U.S. is reviewing the amendments, and wants to be helpful and constructive without undermining basic principles of the security deal.
Mr. Bush made his remarks after discussing the pact at the White House with the president of Iraq's northern Kurdish government, Massoud Barzani.
An Iraqi spokesman says one amendment to the security deal would ban U.S. forces from striking neighboring countries from Iraqi territory.
Syria blames U.S. forces for a raid on eastern Syria Sunday, near the Iraqi border, that Damascus says killed eight Syrian civilians. The Bush administration has refused to confirm or deny carrying out the attack.
Under the current security draft accord, U.S. troops could remain in Iraq for three years, after a U.N. mandate expires in December. U.S. officials say without the accord, all U.S. military operations would cease in Iraq.
Iraq's most influential Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said today Iraq's sovereignty must not be breached in the security pact. A statement issued by Sistani's office said he is closely monitoring the situation until the final contents of the security accord become clear.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has handed over security control of the southern Iraqi province of Wasit to Iraqi authorities.
A transfer ceremony was held today in the provincial capital, Kut. Wasit is the 13th of Iraq's 18 provinces to return to full government control.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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