Friday, February 10, 2012
- 9 sentenced for London Stock Exchange terror plot
- Greece reaches deal on austerity
- CJ takes suo motu notice of Lahore factory collapse
- India, Pakistan trade can reach $10 bn by 2015: CII
- Terror trial of accused Bali bomber starts Monday
- Warrant issued for ex-Maldives president
- Nato supplies continue through Pak airspace: Munter
- Contempt appeal: SC asks Aitzaz to complete arguments on Friday
- Khar says drone attacks multiply militants
- Tax collection registers increase of 26%: Hafeez Shaikh
Failure of pact threatens Iraq's progress: US military
BAGHDAD (AFP) - The US military warned on Wednesday that the failure to sign the much debated military deal between Washington and Baghdad threatens to derail security progress made so far in Iraq.
"You pull one pillar out, you seriously degrade efforts of others," US military spokesman Brigadier General David Perkins said about what could happen if American forces had to stop operating in Iraq if case the deal fails.
The security agreement, which has been under discussion for months, will determine the future of US troops in Iraq beyond December 2008 when the present UN mandate expires.
Under the current proposal US forces would be granted legal tenure to operate in Iraq for three more years.
The latest draft of the pact says American forces will withdraw from Iraqi cities by 2009 and from the whole country by 2011.
It also gives Iraq the power to prosecute US soldiers accused of committing serious crimes outside their bases and when off duty. US negotiators are still focused on how to get the deal signed, Perkins said.
"Nobody wants to turn the clock back. This is a win-win situation. Our partnership will be even stronger," he said.
On Wednesday, Washington's envoy in Baghdad Ryan Crocker met Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari to discuss the accord, a statement from Zebari's office said. On Wednesday US President George W Bush said in Washington he was "very hopeful and confident" about the prospects for the pact but warned against making changes that may undermine it.
Perkins also accused Tehran of interfering in the bilateral negotiations on the security pact.
Meanwhile Iraq's national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said the security deal would prevent the US military from launching attacks on Iraq's neighbours. Rubaie is part of the Iraqi team negotiating the accord with the Americans.
"There is a very clear article in the SOFA draft that says the US cannot, should not, launch any operation from Iraqi soil against other countries," Rubaie told reporters in the central city of Kut. His comments followed the weekend raid by US troops on a village in northeast Syria which Damascus said killed eight civilians.
A US official on Monday said the incursion targeted a top Iraqi smuggler of foreign fighters who used the area just inside Syria to launch attacks.
Meanwhile, Top Iraqi Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani insists that the security pact being negotiated with Washington must not harm Iraq's sovereignty, his office said on Wednesday. "Ayatollah Ali Sistani insists that the sovereignty of Iraq not be touched and he is closely following developments until the final accord has been clarified," said his office in the holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad.
The statement was issued after a visit by two Shia MPs.
"You pull one pillar out, you seriously degrade efforts of others," US military spokesman Brigadier General David Perkins said about what could happen if American forces had to stop operating in Iraq if case the deal fails.
The security agreement, which has been under discussion for months, will determine the future of US troops in Iraq beyond December 2008 when the present UN mandate expires.
Under the current proposal US forces would be granted legal tenure to operate in Iraq for three more years.
The latest draft of the pact says American forces will withdraw from Iraqi cities by 2009 and from the whole country by 2011.
It also gives Iraq the power to prosecute US soldiers accused of committing serious crimes outside their bases and when off duty. US negotiators are still focused on how to get the deal signed, Perkins said.
"Nobody wants to turn the clock back. This is a win-win situation. Our partnership will be even stronger," he said.
On Wednesday, Washington's envoy in Baghdad Ryan Crocker met Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari to discuss the accord, a statement from Zebari's office said. On Wednesday US President George W Bush said in Washington he was "very hopeful and confident" about the prospects for the pact but warned against making changes that may undermine it.
Perkins also accused Tehran of interfering in the bilateral negotiations on the security pact.
Meanwhile Iraq's national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said the security deal would prevent the US military from launching attacks on Iraq's neighbours. Rubaie is part of the Iraqi team negotiating the accord with the Americans.
"There is a very clear article in the SOFA draft that says the US cannot, should not, launch any operation from Iraqi soil against other countries," Rubaie told reporters in the central city of Kut. His comments followed the weekend raid by US troops on a village in northeast Syria which Damascus said killed eight civilians.
A US official on Monday said the incursion targeted a top Iraqi smuggler of foreign fighters who used the area just inside Syria to launch attacks.
Meanwhile, Top Iraqi Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani insists that the security pact being negotiated with Washington must not harm Iraq's sovereignty, his office said on Wednesday. "Ayatollah Ali Sistani insists that the sovereignty of Iraq not be touched and he is closely following developments until the final accord has been clarified," said his office in the holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad.
The statement was issued after a visit by two Shia MPs.
This news was published in print paper. Access complete paper of this day.
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