Iraq wants deadline for troops

2008-07-08 21:35

Baghdad - Iraq will not accept any security agreement with the United States unless it includes dates for the withdrawal of foreign forces, the government's national security adviser said on Tuesday.

The comments by Mowaffaq al-Rubaie underscore the US-backed government's hardening stance toward a deal with Washington that will provide a legal basis for US troops to operate when a UN mandate expires at the end of the year.

On Monday, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki appeared to catch Washington off-guard by suggesting for the first time that a timetable be set for the departure of US forces under the deal being negotiated, which he called a memorandum of understanding.

Rubaie said Iraq was waiting "impatiently for the day when the last foreign soldier leaves Iraq".

"We can't have a memorandum of understanding with foreign forces unless it has dates and clear horizons determining the departure of foreign forces. We're unambiguously talking about their departure," Rubaie said in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf.

He was speaking after meeting Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Rubaie said he spoke to Sistani about the US talks, but did not say if the cleric had an opinion on the negotiations. The revered cleric is routinely briefed on key national issues.

Militants 'want timetable'

The Bush administration has always opposed setting any withdrawal timetable, saying it would allow militant groups to lie low and wait until the 150 000 US troops in Iraq left.

On Tuesday the White House said the talks were not aimed at setting a hard deadline for withdrawal.

In a further complication, Iraq's deputy parliament speaker Khalid al-Attiya said lawmakers must approve any deal the Iraqi government reaches and will probably reject the document if American troops are immune from Iraqi law.

It would be virtually unthinkable for the United States to allow its soldiers to be subject to Iraqi law.

Maliki's preference for a memorandum of understanding is in contrast to earlier talks which have all been leading to the signing of a formal Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

"Without doubt, if the two sides reach an agreement, this is between two countries, and according to the Iraqi constitution a national agreement must be agreed by parliament by a majority of two thirds," Attiya said.

Washington has SOFA pacts with many countries, and they typically exempt US troops from facing trial or prison abroad.

- Reuters