Premature agreement

Condoleezza Rice wants to extend the stay of US troops in Iraq

Washington and Baghdad are close to signing an agreement to extend the presence of US forces in Iraq, but any troop withdrawal schedule included in this document “must reflect reality.” This was stated by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who arrived in Baghdad yesterday for negotiations with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders. Negotiations on a bilateral agreement designed to replace the UN mandate for the multinational force in Iraq, which expires on December 31, have been going on for more than six months and should have been completed by July 31, but, as Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari admitted, “we needed more time.”

The parties agreed on a basic agreement on the principles of the strategic partnership, but, according to Rice, it is “premature” to even talk about a draft security agreement. From the point of view of the Americans and Iraqis, this document is much more important than the treaty itself. Chief Iraqi negotiator Muhammad al-Haj Hamoud claims that the draft is already ready and does not contain a time frame for the withdrawal of US troops. According to the Iraqi, the document will be sent to political leaders and the country's parliament for approval when lawmakers return from vacation in September.

US and Iraqi officials disclose details of the negotiations only on condition of anonymity. Al-Maliki allegedly insists on the withdrawal of all US forces by the end of 2011 and their redeployment by July 2009 from Iraqi cities to bases inside the country “so that they become less visible.” From there they could help the government army. Rice and Zebari actually did not rule out the development of several withdrawal schedules tied to Iraq's successes not only in ensuring its own security, but also “in the internal political settlement, as well as in the economic sphere.”

There are currently about 147 thousand US Army soldiers in Iraq. Their commander in chief, David Petraeus, said the other day that the withdrawal of five army brigades this year (about 20 thousand troops), “as predicted by the Pentagon,” did not lead to a deterioration in the situation. According to the general, most of Iraq's territory is now controlled by coalition troops, the Iraqi army and security forces. "One of the main remaining problems is suicide bombers," General Petraeus said.

Iraqi authorities object to US soldiers maintaining immunity from Iraqi courts. The Americans point to “the existence of a compromise reflecting the US position on the legal immunity of American military personnel.” It is also necessary to agree on the status of approximately 21 thousand Iraqis held in American prisons in Iraq on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities: Baghdad would like to extend its jurisdiction to them.

Alexander SAMOKHOTKIN