The Americans will go to their bases

The US will withdraw troops from Iraq so as to remain there forever

The US administration intends to conclude a long-term agreement on a “strategic alliance” with the Iraqi government. The plans have caused sharp divisions among various Iraqi political forces and threaten further instability in the troubled country. Many Iraqi parliamentarians oppose the agreement, especially if it does not stipulate that 151,000 American troops will leave Iraq by early next year. The other day, Iraqi deputies even sent a letter about this to the US Congress.

"More than half of Iraq's legislators oppose any military, economic, agricultural or investment agreement with the United States that does not clearly include a mechanism for the complete withdrawal of U.S. occupation forces from Iraq," Democratic Congressman William Delahunt said on the House floor yesterday. According to him, "the conclusion of an agreement with Iraq should be postponed until all American military personnel are withdrawn from this country."

The planned agreement would determine the status of US forces in Iraq. Now they are there under a UN mandate, which has been extended several times and expires on December 31 of this year. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said in an interview with Vremya Novostei back in February that negotiations on an agreement were underway. Then he noted that “the negotiations will not be easy”: “But there is nothing secret - the agreement will be submitted for discussion in parliament. Difficulties will certainly be associated with internal processes in Iraq, since a variety of political groups must agree with the document” (read the interview with him in "Vremya Novostey" dated February 13) .

Russia has repeatedly advocated setting a schedule for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq. In Baghdad, some politicians fear that if the Americans ever leave the country, they will still leave their military bases there. Yesterday, the representative of the US command, General Kevin Bergner, convened a press conference in Baghdad, at which he noted that the United States is not interested in having military bases in Iraq “on a permanent basis,” but “negotiations are at an early stage, and therefore it is too early to predict anything.” .

The British newspapers The Guardian and The Independent learned in detail about the Pentagon's plans to extend its military presence in Iraq. They obtained a secret draft of the basic US-Iraqi document. It makes clear that the United States wants to receive fifty permanent military bases in Iraq, full judicial immunity for its military personnel, the right to “counter-terrorism activities,” including military operations and arrests of local residents, all without prior consultation with the Iraqi authorities. The US also wants to gain control of Iraqi airspace. It also follows from the draft that the White House intends to persuade Baghdad to conclude an agreement by the end of July and wants it not to be put to a referendum for fear that the Iraqis will fail it.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari announced yesterday that his ministry's lawyers were being sent to Germany, Turkey, South Korea and Japan to study the legal aspects of the presence of US troops in these countries in relation to the upcoming agreement. Earlier, the minister told VN that “this will be a very important, fateful document”: “During its development, negotiations with the State Department will discuss the legal basis for the presence of multinational armed forces in Iraq and their numbers. They can't stay indefinitely. However, the pact will not determine the exact schedule for their withdrawal; this will remain the subject of negotiations.”

Victor VOLODIN