BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Cabinet asked for changes in a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement Tuesday, once more casting doubt on the document’s speedy passage with less than three months to go before the U.N. mandate authorizing the presence of American troops in Iraq expires.
The first Cabinet session reviewing the document revealed what a divisive issue the security agreement has become. Only the country’s Kurdish bloc is publicly backing the current accord, while Shiite Muslim and Sunni Arab allies of the United States remain wary of endorsing the draft, which had been described by both Americans and Iraqis as in its final form. The Iraqi side once more called for a new round of negotiations.
“The Council of Ministers has unanimously agreed that there are necessary amendments which need to be made to the current draft in order to raise the agreement to a nationally acceptable level,” government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement.
The slow pace means an agreement might not reached before the U.S. presidential election in two weeks, and that Iraqi and U.S. negotiators ultimately might forgo a long-term security agreement in favor of a more temporary arrangement.
In Washington, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told reporters that the door to change was “pretty far closed” and warned that failure to reach a deal or renew the U.N. mandate would mean suspension of U.S. operations.
“There is great reluctance to engage further in the drafting process,” he said, according to Reuters news service.
One Iraqi government official who attended the session said the Cabinet would start debating the suggestions Sunday.
The official who attended Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting said some ministers called for the agreement to be put before a national referendum. Ministers demanded alterations to the language regarding immunity for U.S. soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts and calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces at the end of 2011.
The language regarding immunity, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by the Los Angeles Times, provides U.S. military and government personnel protection from prosecution when they are on their bases or on missions.
The language allows, according to an Iraqi official interpretation, that the Iraqi government could petition a joint U.S.-Iraq committee if someone commits a serious and premeditated crime while on duty. If both sides agree, the suspect could stand trial in an Iraqi court. But the language is not precise enough for cabinet members.
Sheik Jalaluddin al-Saghir, a senior member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, noted that Iraq could seek renewable six-month or one-year U.N. Security Council extension of the mandate to provide a legal umbrella for U.S. forces. Then U.S. and Iraqi officials could renew negotiations when the next U.S. president comes into power in January.
“When there is a new administration, there will be new options, new conditions,” al-Saghir said.
U.S. military deaths
The latest identifications reported by the U.S. military of personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq:
Army Capt. Robert D. Lindenau, 39, who lived in Everett and on Camano Island; died Monday in Charbagh, Afghanistan, when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle; assigned to the 91st Civil Affairs Battalion, 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.
Army Spc. Justin A. Saint, 22, Albertville, Ala.; died Oct. 15 in Baghdad of injuries from a noncombat incident; assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Army Pfc. Heath K. Pickard, 21, Palestine, Texas; died Thursday in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from indirect fire in Baqouba; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
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