Iraq, US sign pact on troops withdrawal deadline

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-17 18:46

First reading

Iraqi lawmakers were due to begin a first reading of the troops accord later on Monday, the start of an approval process that should run into next week.

"The final word will be for the parliament, but the political atmosphere is positive," Zebari said.

The pact gives Iraq's government authority over the US troops presence for the first time, replacing a UN Security Council mandate that has governed the US presence since shortly after the 2003 invasion.

Under the deal, US troops will leave the streets of Iraqi towns and villages by the middle of next year and leave Iraq altogether by the end of 2011. The deal also provides for Iraqi courts try US soldiers for serious crimes committed while off duty, but only under very tight conditions.

The agreement's passage through parliament is likely but not assured. Followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr oppose the pact altogether, and the largest Sunni Arab bloc, the Accordance Front, says it should be put to the public in a referendum.

However, if other groups follow through on their leaders' promises to back it, the accord should pass.

The Bush administration says the accord does not need US congressional approval.

Some Iraqi politicians have said it is easier to back the pact since the election of Barack Obama this month to replace Bush. Obama pledged to withdraw US combat troops from Iraq by mid-2010, while his opponent John McCain opposed setting a date.

Iraq's government has become increasingly confident of its ability to maintain order as violence has declined over the past year. Last month saw the lowest death toll from violence since the invasion, according to government statistics.

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