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.