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Politics : THE WHITE HOUSE -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (21280)	8/21/2008 11:04:13 AM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 25737

U.S.-Iraq Accord on Troops Reached, Will Go to Iraqi Parliament By Camilla Hall and Viola Gienger bloomberg.com Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have produced a draft agreement that determines how long U.S. troops will stay in Iraq, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said, adding that the process of gaining parliamentary approval for the accord will begin tomorrow. ``There's been a great deal of progress,'' Zebari said in a joint news conference in Baghdad with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. ``We are very close to finalizing this very important agreement.'' All issues of concern have been addressed in the draft, which will be presented to Iraq's executive council before it goes to lawmakers for approval, he said today. Rice said, ``We are working together as partners to make certain we cover the concerns of both parties.'' She said the plan contains ``aspirational timetables'' for a pullout, and that the U.S. will respect Iraq's sovereignty. Rice declined to answer a question on the issue of immunity of U.S. forces or go into other details of the accord. The U.S. aims to complete the Status of Forces Agreement, governing how American troops operate in Iraq, before a United Nations mandate expires at the end of this year. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki agreed July 18 on what the White House called a ``general time horizon'' for the reduction of U.S. combat forces. Zebari said the deal addresses the ``temporary presence'' of U.S. forces and their mission. He reiterated that Iraq would not be used as a base from which to attack any other country. Iraqi Forces Two days after al-Maliki agreed with Bush in July on a timeframe, the Iraqi leader told visiting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama that he hopes U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by 2010, while not explicitly expressing support for Obama's proposed 16-month timetable. Al-Maliki has said Iraq can take care of its own security with the country's current police and armed forces. While the Iraqi government will seek parliamentary approval for the deal, the Bush administration has rejected contentions by members of Congress in Washington that U.S. lawmakers also should get a say over the terms. The U.S. has cut its presence to about 150,000 troops in Iraq from a peak of more than 160,000 late last year. The Pentagon said in July that it had completed removing all five army brigade combat teams sent to Iraq as part of the military buildup to quell sectarian violence and tackle al-Qaeda. After the economy, U.S. voters say the most important issue for presidential candidates Obama and Republican Senator John McCain is the war in Iraq, with 31 percent picking that issue as their top priority, according to an Aug. 15-18 Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll. As U.S. casualties in Iraq have declined this year, voters are increasingly seeing McCain as better able to succeed in the Iraq war. By a margin of 43 percent to 36 percent, they say McCain is better suited than Democratic Senator Obama at achieving success in the war, according to the poll. To contact the reporters on this story: Camilla Hall in London at chall24@bloomberg.net; Viola Gienger in Baghdad through the Washington newsroom at +1- vgienger@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: August 21, 2008 09:50 EDT