Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
San Diego Union-Tribune
June 2, 2008 By Reuters
BAGHDAD – Iraq, negotiating an agreement on keeping U.S. forces in the country, has sent teams to study military pacts Washington has with other nations, Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said yesterday.
The United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003 to oust Saddam Hussein, is negotiating an agreement with Iraq aimed at giving a legal basis for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq after Dec. 31, when their United Nations mandate expires.
The “status of forces” agreement is similar to pacts the United States has with many other countries, setting out rules for U.S. military activity.
“Recently, we dispatched four tactical teams to visit Germany, Turkey, South Korea and Japan, just to see the way they did their status of forces agreements,” Zebari told a news conference with visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
The situation in Iraq was different because military operations were still going on, he said. Zebari said the agreement was “an Iraqi need” because the country's security forces were not yet self-sufficient.
The talks have angered many Iraqis who suspect the United States of wanting to keep a permanent presence in Iraq. On Friday, thousands answered a call by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to protest the agreement.
June 2, 2008 By Reuters
BAGHDAD – Iraq, negotiating an agreement on keeping U.S. forces in the country, has sent teams to study military pacts Washington has with other nations, Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said yesterday.
The United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003 to oust Saddam Hussein, is negotiating an agreement with Iraq aimed at giving a legal basis for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq after Dec. 31, when their United Nations mandate expires.
The “status of forces” agreement is similar to pacts the United States has with many other countries, setting out rules for U.S. military activity.
“Recently, we dispatched four tactical teams to visit Germany, Turkey, South Korea and Japan, just to see the way they did their status of forces agreements,” Zebari told a news conference with visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
The situation in Iraq was different because military operations were still going on, he said. Zebari said the agreement was “an Iraqi need” because the country's security forces were not yet self-sufficient.
The talks have angered many Iraqis who suspect the United States of wanting to keep a permanent presence in Iraq. On Friday, thousands answered a call by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to protest the agreement.