U.S., Iraq “very close” to troop status deal – Rice
Washington, 21 August (IranVNC)—Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Iraq today, where she told reporters that Washington and Baghdad were “very, very close” to reaching an agreement on the future of US troops in Iraq, AFP reports.
By: IranVNC
Published: Thursday, August 21, 2008
11:21GMT—7:21AM/EST
IRAQ – US – TROOPS – WITHDRAWAL – RICE
Washington, 21 August (IranVNC)—Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Iraq today, where she told reporters that Washington and Baghdad were “very, very close” to reaching an agreement on the future of US troops in Iraq, AFP reports.
Secretary Rice clarified that the US –proposed Status of Forces Agreement [SOFA], which has been criticized by some Iraqis as potentially undermining Iraq’s sovereignty, has not been signed and is still in negotiations.
“We are very, very close to an agreement. But it’s not done,” said Rice. “Undoubtedly it’s true that the negotiators have taken this very, very far towards an end-agreement but there is no reason to believe that there is an agreement,” she added, according to Reuters.
The Status of Forces Agreement will determine the US troop levels and will allow American forces to remain in Iraq after a UN mandate expires at the end of this year.
The deal will also govern the immunity of US troops from Iraqi law – an issue Secretary Rice did not directly address in the news conference today.
“I am not going into details now, where we are on in specific issues except to say, I think, all issues have moved forward in a positive way,” said the Secretary, AFP reports.
Rice said she did not expect the deal to be signed in her meeting today with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki.
“We are continuing to work to make sure that any timelines that are in agreement really do reflect what we believe can be done, what’s feasible,” said Rice. “Obviously everybody is going to keep an eye on conditions on the ground.”
Prime Minister al-Maliki does not want the 144,000 US troops to stay in Iraq longer than is necessary, but the Bush administration has been reluctant to set any timeline for the withdrawal of forces.
Iraqi officials have said they would like US troops to stop their patrol duties in Iraq by the middle of next year, and hope to have all combat troops gone by 2010 or 2011.
It is unclear whether the agreement will cover the question of these dates specifically, Reuters reports.
Sources: Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Reuters
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