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Iraq Pact On Fragile Footing

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The Washington Post

Published: October 18, 2008

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's political leaders on Friday began studying a draft agreement to extend the U.S. military presence here beyond 2008, but some lawmakers predicted the proposal would face a tough fight in parliament.

The accord faced its first test Friday night in a discussion by the 23-member Political Council for National Security, an advisory body that includes political, legislative and judicial leaders.

The session ended with plans to meet again Sunday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, angry about comments made by the top U.S. commander in Iraq earlier this week, said the negotiations have gotten more complex.

"The American commander risked his position when he talked about this issue and in this manner," al-Maliki said in remarks broadcast on state television Friday. "The parliament does not take any bribes neither from Iran nor any other party. This is regretful."

Army Gen. Ray Odierno, who took command of U.S. forces last month, told the Washington Post in an interview published Monday that U.S. intelligence reports showed Iran had attempted to bribe Iraqi lawmakers to sabotage the deal.

The U.S. government needs new legal authority to keep its about 155,000 troops in Iraq beyond Dec. 31, when a U.N. mandate expires. The new draft accord requires U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities by mid-2009, and to leave the country by the end of 2011.

The months-long negotiations over the pact had broken down over the sensitive issue of whether U.S. soldiers would be tried in Iraqi courts if they violate the law.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Friday that new compromise language in the agreement would permit the United States to maintain legal jurisdiction over its forces when they were on their bases or outside them on a mission.

If a soldier commits a crime outside a base while off-duty, a decision on jurisdiction "needs to be made jointly by a subcommittee," Zebari told the Post. But he indicated the United States would have the last word.

The U.S. Defense Department, which insists on jurisdiction over its forces stationed around the world, supports the compromise, Pentagon officials said.

Information from the Los Angeles Times was used in this report.

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