Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Media: AFP
Byline:n/a
Date: September 4, 2006
BAGHDAD, Sept 4, 2006 (AFP) - The Iraqi defence ministry said Monday that a
delayed agreement under which the US military will hand command of Iraqi
units to the government would be signed "in the next few days".
Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said the agreement had been held up
while lawyers fine-tuned the document.
"This means full sovereignty and the security dossier will be received by
Iraq," he told reporters in Baghdad, explaining that questions remained over
who would sign the agreement from the Iraqi side.
"Is it the commander in chief of the armed forces, Mr. Prime Minister (Nuri
al-Maliki), or the defence minister or the chief of staff of the joint
forces or the commanders of the land, air or navy arms?" he said.
On Saturday, reporters were invited to a ceremony to mark the inauguration
of a joint miltary command, which will gradually take operational control of
all Iraqi units, including those currently controlled by US headquarters.
The event was cancelled without explanation at the last minute, however, and
US officers said Maliki's government had requested changes in the handover
document.
Askari said these were minor clarifications which did not represent a
dispute over who would have authority under the new agreement, and that the
government's legal advisers were reviewing the document.
Byline:n/a
Date: September 4, 2006
BAGHDAD, Sept 4, 2006 (AFP) - The Iraqi defence ministry said Monday that a
delayed agreement under which the US military will hand command of Iraqi
units to the government would be signed "in the next few days".
Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said the agreement had been held up
while lawyers fine-tuned the document.
"This means full sovereignty and the security dossier will be received by
Iraq," he told reporters in Baghdad, explaining that questions remained over
who would sign the agreement from the Iraqi side.
"Is it the commander in chief of the armed forces, Mr. Prime Minister (Nuri
al-Maliki), or the defence minister or the chief of staff of the joint
forces or the commanders of the land, air or navy arms?" he said.
On Saturday, reporters were invited to a ceremony to mark the inauguration
of a joint miltary command, which will gradually take operational control of
all Iraqi units, including those currently controlled by US headquarters.
The event was cancelled without explanation at the last minute, however, and
US officers said Maliki's government had requested changes in the handover
document.
Askari said these were minor clarifications which did not represent a
dispute over who would have authority under the new agreement, and that the
government's legal advisers were reviewing the document.
