.Iraq and US look beyond the war
BAGHDAD: Iraq's Government is prepared to allow the US a long-term troop presence in the country and preferential treatment for American investments in return for a guarantee of security including defence against internal coups.
The US President, George Bush, and the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, signed a declaration of principles during a video conference as part of an effort to move forward 4½ years after a US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The proposal is one of the first indications that the US and Iraq are beginning to explore what their relationship might be when the US significantly reduces its troop presence.
The declaration calls for the current United Nations mandate to be extended by one year and then replaced at the end of next year by a bilateral pact governing the economic, political and security aspects of the relationship.
"Iraq and the United States now have a common sheet of music with which to begin the negotiations," Mr Bush's co-ordinator on Iraq and Afghanistan, General Douglas Lute, said.
Those negotiations will address thorny issues such as what mission US forces in Iraq will pursue, whether they will establish permanent bases, and what kind of immunity, if any, should be granted to private security contractors such as Blackwater USA. It also will canvas investment preferences, according to two unnamed Iraqi officials.
Preferential treatment for US investors could provide a huge windfall if Iraq can achieve enough stability to exploit its vast oil resources.
Such a deal would also enable the US to maintain leverage against Iranian expansion amid growing fears about Tehran's nuclear aspirations.
Members of the Iraqi parliament were briefed on the plan during a three-hour closed meeting on Monday, during which MPs loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr objected to the formula.
The Iraqi officials said that under the proposed formula, Iraq would get full responsibility for internal security and American troops would relocate to bases outside the cities.
Iraqi officials foresee a long-term presence of about 50,000 US troops, down from the current figure of more than 160,000.
American troops and other foreign forces now operate in Iraq under a UN Security Council mandate, which has been renewed annually since 2003.
Iraqi officials have said they want the next renewal - which must be approved by the UN Security Council by the end of this year - to be the last.
The Iraqis also want an end to all UN-ordered restrictions on Iraq's sovereignty, the Iraqi officials said.
SMH
The US President, George Bush, and the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, signed a declaration of principles during a video conference as part of an effort to move forward 4½ years after a US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The proposal is one of the first indications that the US and Iraq are beginning to explore what their relationship might be when the US significantly reduces its troop presence.
The declaration calls for the current United Nations mandate to be extended by one year and then replaced at the end of next year by a bilateral pact governing the economic, political and security aspects of the relationship.
"Iraq and the United States now have a common sheet of music with which to begin the negotiations," Mr Bush's co-ordinator on Iraq and Afghanistan, General Douglas Lute, said.
Those negotiations will address thorny issues such as what mission US forces in Iraq will pursue, whether they will establish permanent bases, and what kind of immunity, if any, should be granted to private security contractors such as Blackwater USA. It also will canvas investment preferences, according to two unnamed Iraqi officials.
Preferential treatment for US investors could provide a huge windfall if Iraq can achieve enough stability to exploit its vast oil resources.
Such a deal would also enable the US to maintain leverage against Iranian expansion amid growing fears about Tehran's nuclear aspirations.
Members of the Iraqi parliament were briefed on the plan during a three-hour closed meeting on Monday, during which MPs loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr objected to the formula.
The Iraqi officials said that under the proposed formula, Iraq would get full responsibility for internal security and American troops would relocate to bases outside the cities.
Iraqi officials foresee a long-term presence of about 50,000 US troops, down from the current figure of more than 160,000.
American troops and other foreign forces now operate in Iraq under a UN Security Council mandate, which has been renewed annually since 2003.
Iraqi officials have said they want the next renewal - which must be approved by the UN Security Council by the end of this year - to be the last.
The Iraqis also want an end to all UN-ordered restrictions on Iraq's sovereignty, the Iraqi officials said.
SMH
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