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Gates says US reluctant to alter Iraq troop draft

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-22 08:59

The draft would require US troops to leave Iraq after 2011 unless Baghdad asks them to stay and allow Iraqi courts try US military service members accused of serious crimes while off duty.

A US soldier patrols in Baquba, in Diyala province some 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, October 21, 2008. [Agencies]

It would mean that foreign troops, which now operate under a U.N. Security Council mandate, would function for the first time under the authority of the elected government in Baghdad. Both sides call it a milestone for Iraqi sovereignty.

Some Iraqi politicians have expressed reservations over details such as the mechanism for trying of US troops. Only Kurdish groups have so far given the text full support.

Humam Hamoudi, a leading member of parliament from the Shi'ite alliance, said that among those voicing doubts in recent days was Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who has yet to speak about the pact in public.

"The prime minister said: what (the Americans) have given with the right hand they have taken away with the left hand," Hamoudi told a news conference.

Maliki's Shi'ite rivals, followers of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, strongly oppose the pact, as does the leadership of mainly Shi'ite Iran, which has influence among Iraqi Shi'ites.

A senior, non-Shi'ite government source said the delay was prompted by Shi'ite politicians under Iranian pressure.

"It seems there was a (Shi'ite) alliance decision to reject it," he said. "I can only explain these Shi'ite delaying tactics by Iranian pressure. There's no other explanation."

Gates said renewing the U.N. mandate was a less attractive option than the SOFA. It would require a vote by the U.N. Security Council that could draw a veto from Russia.

"What really needs to happen is for us to get this SOFA done. It's a good agreement. It's good for us. It's good for them. It really protects Iraqi sovereignty," he said.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, a member of a Kurdish group that backs the draft, said the pact was unlikely to pass before the US presidential election on November 4.

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