status of forces

A Withdrawal in Name Only

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:04:18 -0400

by Erik Leaver & Daniel Atzmon

On November 17, 2008, when Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker signed an agreement for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, citizens from both countries applauded. While many were disappointed about the lengthy timeline for the withdrawal of the troops, it appeared that a roadmap was set to end the war and occupation. However, the first step — withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009 — is full of loopholes, and tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers will remain in the cities after the "deadline" passes.

Iraq PM: Deadly US Raid 'Breach' of Security Pact

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:00:43 -0400

BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said a US raid on Sunday in which a policeman and a woman were shot dead was a "breach" of a landmark security pact with Washington.

"The prime minister condemns the killings which are in breach of the (US-Iraqi) security pact," Maliki said in a statement carried by Iraqi state TV. The premier "wants those responsible to be put on trial," it added.

Drawdown Plan May Leave Combat Brigades in Iraq

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:49:57 -0500

by Gareth Porter

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has given military commanders a free hand to determine the size and composition of a residual force in Iraq up to 50,000 troops, apparently including the option of leaving one or more combat brigades or bringing them from the United States, after the August 2010 deadline for the ostensible withdrawal of all combat brigades now in Iraq.

Trying to Redefine Role of US Military in Iraq

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:25:35 -0500

by Elisabeth Bumiller

WASHINGTON - It is one of the most troublesome questions right now at the Pentagon, and it has started a semantic dance: What is the definition of a combat soldier? More important, when will all American combat troops withdraw from the major cities of Iraq?

The short answers are that combat troops, defined by the military as those whose primary mission is to engage the enemy with lethal force, will have to be out of Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, the deadline under a recently approved status-of-forces agreement between the United States and Iraq.

US Military Defiant on Key Terms of Iraqi Pact

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:23:29 -0500

by Gareth Porter

WASHINGTON - U.S. military leaders and Pentagon officials have made it clear through public statements and deliberately leaked stories in recent weeks that they plan to violate a central provision of the U.S.-Iraq withdrawal agreement requiring the complete withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities by mid-2009 by reclassifying combat troops as support troops.

The scheme to engage in chicanery in labeling U.S. troops represents both open defiance of an agreement which the U.S.

Immunity Recedes for Private Contractors

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 12:36:20 -0500

by William Fisher

NEW YORK - The virtually total impunity from prosecution accorded to private contractors in Iraq may be coming to an end.

Under the new Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) approved by the Iraqi government last week, U.S. contractors will be subject to Iraqi law for the first time. Moreover, some observers believe that Iraq may be able to hold them legally accountable for offences allegedly committed even before the SOFA was approved.

Thousands of Iraqis Protest US Security Pact

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:30:11 -0500

by Wisam Mohammed

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber killed 12 people in an Iraqi mosque on Friday while thousands of followers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr demonstrated in Baghdad after parliament passed a pact allowing U.S. troops to remain through 2011.

Some 9,000 people protested in Baghdad's Shi'ite slum of Sadr City after Friday prayers, burning a U.S. flag and holding banners reading "No, no to the agreement." About 2,500 people held a similar rally in the southern city of Basra.

Iraqi Parliament Approves Landmark US Military Pact

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:06:02 -0500

BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament on Thursday approved a landmark military pact that will see all US troops withdraw by the end of 2011, eight years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and plunged the country into chaos.

After 11 months of hard-nosed negotiations with Washington and a flurry of domestic political horse-trading leading up to the vote, the pact was approved by 149 members of the 198 who attended the session of the 275-member assembly.

US Staying Silent on Its View of Iraq Pact Until After Vote

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:29:11 -0500

by Adam Ashton, Jonathan S. Landay and Nancy A. Youssef

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has adopted a much looser interpretation than the Iraqi government of several key provisions of the pending U.S.-Iraq security agreement, U.S. officials said Tuesday - just hours before the Iraqi parliament was to hold its historic vote.

These include a provision that bans the launch of attacks on other countries from Iraq, a requirement to notify the Iraqis in advance of U.S. military operations and the question of Iraqi legal jurisdiction over American troops and military contractors.

Contractors in Iraq Could Face Charges in Earlier Incidents

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:05:13 -0500

by Nancy A. Youssef

WASHINGTON - Private security contractors operating in Iraq could face Iraqi prosecution for acts committed when they supposedly had immunity from Iraqi law, U.S. officials said Thursday.

A new U.S.-Iraq security agreement doesn't specifically prevent Iraqi officials from bringing criminal charges retroactively in cases such as the September 2007 shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians by contractors protecting a State Department convoy, officials told security company officials during meetings in Washington Thursday.