Gates, Rice defend Iraq security agreement

[unhappycamper]

Gates, Rice defend Iraq security agreement
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 22:14:55 EST

WASHINGTON — The security agreement between U.S. and Iraq provides both the time and authority needed for American troops to train Iraqi forces and pursue terrorists, senior Bush administration officials said Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were explaining and defending the agreement to Congress, some members of which are deeply skeptical of the agreement that lays out U.S. troop withdrawal timelines and gives Iraq limited legal jurisdiction over U.S. forces and military contractors who commit crimes.

The 21-page document was signed on Monday in Baghdad by U.S. and Iraqi officials after months of painstaking negotiations, but it still must be approved by the Iraqi parliament. Tempers ran high when debate began in the Iraqi parliament this week, including a clash between supporters and opponents on Wednesday.

Although the Bush administration contends congressional approval is not required on the U.S. side, the White House dispatched Gates and Rice to Capitol Hill to assuage lawmakers’ concerns as the clock ticks down on the existing United Nations mandate for the troops’ presence in Iraq. The U.N. mandate expires on Dec. 31.

The agreement sets a June 30, 2009, deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraqi cities and towns and a Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq provided that Iraqi forces have assumed full security responsibility in the country, according to a copy obtained by the AP.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_gates_rice_pact_111908/%2e