US and Iraq Set Pullout Date

by The Real News
Iraq and US negotiators set troop pullout for end of 2011 but many Iraqis opposed to late date.

 

 

 

 

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Thursday that a broad document setting out the nature of any future US troop presence and of Washington-Baghdad relations is close to fruition, but not yet complete. A key part of the draft agreement envisions the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq by December, 2011, a date further in the future than the Iraqis initially wanted.

 

Rice was reported to have been pessimistic talking to reporters on route from Washington and she displayed similar caution at the news conference with Zebari after talks with Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. According to a Washington Post report:

• ‘The question of immunity for U.S. troops and Defense Department personnel from Iraqi legal jurisdiction -- demanded by Washington and rejected by Baghdad -- remained unresolved.

 

Troop immunity, one U.S. official said, "is the red line for us."’ The Post article also added:

• “The deal would leave tens of thousands of U.S. troops inside Iraq in supporting roles, such as military trainers, for an unspecified time.”

 

There are now about 144-thousand US troops in Iraq. Zebari said the pact which US and Iraqi officials are trying to finish will be presented to Iraq's Executive Council for review, and must then be ratified by the Iraqi Parliament But followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who control 30 of the 275 seats in parliament, criticized Rice's visit and repeated their opposition to the security agreement.