Iraq's Al-Maliki Wants Short-Term US Agreement

US soldiers stand near the landmark "Hands of Victory", built by executed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to commemorate Iraq's victory in the Iran-Iraq war, inside Baghdad's Green Zone on July 5.

From Yahoo News:

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Iraq has proposed a short-term memorandum of understanding with the United States rather than trying to hammer through a formal agreement on the presence of U.S. forces, the country's prime minister said Monday.

The Iraqi government proposed the memorandum after widespread Iraqi opposition to United States demands emerged during talks on a more formal Status of Forces Agreement. Some type of agreement is needed to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires at year's end.

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More News On Iraq - U.S. Agreement

Iraq says may agree timetable for U.S. withdrawal -- Reuters
Iraqi PM says he wants short-term memo, not formal agreement on presence of US forces -- International Herald Tribune
Iraqi lawmakers say U.S. demanding 58 military bases -- Indymedia
Iraq raises prospect of US troop pullout -- Sydney Morning Herald
US may cut troops in Iraq no matter who is president: report -- Economic Times Of India
FACTBOX - Iraq's thorny security negotiations with U.S. -- Reuters

My Comment: American forces will be in Iraq for a very long time. It is in everyone's interests that this must be the case. The discussion right now is the size and extent of this American footprint. If Europe, Japan, and Kuwait are used as reference points, American forces will be in the desert for a very long time. The footprint will not be noticeable, but the presence of maybe 35,000 to 75,000 troops and support personal will be there.