BAGHDAD, Nov. 16 -- After months of painstaking negotiations between Baghdad and Washington, the Iraqi Cabinet on Sunday approved a bilateral agreement allowing U.S. troops to remain in this country for three more years.
The accord still needs approval by Iraq's parliament, but the Cabinet vote indicated that most major Iraqi parties supported it. The Iraqi government spokesman portrayed the pact as closing the book on the occupation that began with the U.S.-led 2003 invasion.
"The total withdrawal will be completed by Dec. 31, 2011. This is not governed by circumstances on the ground," the spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told Iraqi reporters, pointedly rejecting the more conditional language that the U.S. government had earlier sought in the accord.
American officials have pointed out that there is nothing stopping the next Iraqi government from asking some U.S. troops to stay on. The Iraqi military is years away from being able to defend the country from external attack, according to both U.S. and Iraqi officials.
Still, there is no doubt that the accord, if passed by parliament, will sharply reduce the U.S. military's power in Iraq. American soldiers will be required to seek warrants from Iraqi courts to execute arrests, and to hand over suspects to Iraqi authorities. U.S. troops will have to leave their combat outposts in Iraqi cities by mid-2009, withdrawing to bases.
The U.S. government has lobbied hard for the status-of-forces
agreement, which would replace a United Nations mandate authorizing the
U.S. presence that expires on Dec. 31. Without some legal umbrella, the
150,000 U.S. forces would have to end their operations in Iraq in a few
weeks' time, military officials said.
"We welcome the Cabinet's approval of the agreement today," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement read by a spokeswoman. "This is an important and positive step."
The Iraqi spokesman noted his government could cancel the agreement if its own forces became capable of controlling security at an earlier point.
"That matches the vision of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama," Dabbagh said, referring to the Democrat's plan to withdraw American combat troops within 16 months. "The Iraqi side would not mind [withdrawal] when the readiness of its forces is achieved."
While the Cabinet vote indicated that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had rounded up the support of most of Iraq's major parties, final passage of the accord is not guaranteed, politicians said.
One issue is timing: The notoriously slow-moving Iraqi parliament is scheduled to adjourn on Nov. 25 for a three-week break to allow lawmakers to make the hajj pilgrimage.
"We have a limited window of time," warned Hoshyar Zebari, the foreign minister.
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