U.S. And Iraq Agree To A Security Pact

A U.S. soldier aboard a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flies over the banks of the Tigris River during an air-assault mission in Bayji, Iraq, Oct. 14, 2008. The soldier is assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers conducted Operation Deadbluff to reduce the number of enemy weapons caches in the area. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Richard Rzepka

U.S., Iraq Agree Pact Giving U.S. Troops Until 2011
-- Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Washington and Baghdad have reached a final agreement after months of talks on a pact that would require U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq by 2011, U.S. and Iraqi officials said on Wednesday.

The bilateral pact replaces a U.N. Security Council resolution enacted after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and will give Iraq's elected government authority over the U.S. troop presence for the first time.

The two countries reached a compromise on the difficult question of whether U.S. troops could be tried in Iraqi court, an issue that both sides had long said was holding up the pact.

The agreement was submitted to Iraqi political leaders for approval, a first step toward ratifying it in the Iraqi parliament, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.

A U.S. official in Washington confirmed the final draft had been agreed by both sides and would require U.S. troops to leave by the end of 2011, unless Iraq asks them to stay longer.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S./Iraq Security Pact Agreement

U.S. says pact not sealed with Iraq yet -- Reuters
Iraq Plan Requires U.S. Forces Leave by 2011, Reuters Says -- Bloomberg
Pact to Allow U.S. Troops Until 2011 Sent to Iraqi Politicians -- FOX News
Iraq leaders mull new draft of US military pact -- AFP
Iraq mulls new US security draft -- BBC News
US agrees to limited Iraqi jurisdiction -- GMA News
US agrees to limited Iraqi jurisdiction -- AP
Security pact reportedly gives Baghdad limited right to prosecute U.S. troops -- Canadian Press