Iraq Starts Debate On Having Some US Troops Remain After The 2011 Deadline For Withdrawal

U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, greets Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad, Aug. 1, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Iraq Agrees To Start Talks On Keeping Some U.S. Forces -- Miami Herald

BAGHDAD — Under intense U.S. pressure, Iraqi leaders announced early Wednesday they had agreed to start negotiations on keeping some American soldiers in the country after the current Dec. 31 deadline for all U.S. troops to have left Iraq.

The decision was announced following more than four hours of closed-door talks led by President Jalal Talabani. Most reporters had rushed home to beat the 1 a.m. curfew still in force.

A U.S. embassy official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the Iraqi talks said that any agreement with Iraq to keep soldiers here would require immunity from criminal prosecution for all U.S. military personnel, an issue that would have to be approved by the Iraqi parliament.

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More News On U.S. - Iraq Talks On Some US Soldiers Remaining In Iraq

Iraq signals willingness to allow some US forces to stay -- Christian Science Monitor
Iraqi leaders agree to discuss US troop stay -- Al Jazeera
Iraq’s troop decision encouraging, U.S. says -- Washington Post
Maliki can negotiate on U.S. troops -- UPI
As Iraq hedges, U.S. drawdown moving swiftly -- Stars and Stripes
The case for keeping U.S. troops in Northern Iraq -- Larry Hanauer, CNN
In Iraq, why American troops might stay -- Alice Fordham, Washington Post
Iraq: U.S. Military Withdrawal II -- Micah Zenko, Council On Foreign Relations