NYT : Iraqi Favors Short Security Pact With U.S.

Iraqi Favors Short Security Pact With U.S.

By SABRINA TAVERNISE | July 8, 2008

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki publicly confirmed Monday that his government was leaning toward concluding a short-term security pact with the United States instead of a broader agreement that would last for years.

The legal authority for American troops in Iraq is now provided by a United Nations mandate that expires at the end of the year. Iraq and the United States have been negotiating details of a broad new agreement that would formalize the security relationship, but with elections nearing in both countries and opposition likely from the Iraqi Parliament, Iraqi leaders seemed to be opting for a narrower and short-term pact.

Mr. Maliki’s office said in a statement that the “current trend is toward reaching a memorandum of understanding” that would extend the presence of American troops for a period of time. While the statement used the words “scheduled withdrawal” about American troops, it did not seem to mean that a precise timetable for troops to depart was being negotiated.

Ali al-Adeeb, a prominent leader in Mr. Maliki’s political party, said in a telephone interview that while there were many options for withdrawal and several end points under discussion, “We think that what is suitable for withdrawal is when our soldiers are ready and well armed to take the responsibility.”

The issues being negotiated are prickly: How much control, if any, should Iraqis have over American security operations? Should American soldiers have the right to detain suspects without Iraqi approval?

Iraq’s Parliament said Monday that it would vote next Tuesday on a law to authorize and set rules for provincial elections this year. Lawmakers agreed to resolve by a simple majority vote several troublesome issues, like whether there should be a minimum quota for women in the legislature and whether parties should be allowed to use religious symbols.

In other developments, a crackdown continued against members of the political party of the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, as Iraqi authorities arrested Salam Abdulwahed Jubara, the manager of the education department in al-Majar al-Kabeer, a village in southern Iraq.

The governor of Maysan Province, where the village is located, is Adel Muhoder, whose arrest has been ordered by Iraqi authorities. He is Mr. Jubara’s uncle, a security official said.

In Diyala Province, near the Iranian border, an improvised explosive near Mandali killed a family of four. The four, who were ethnic Kurds, were traveling in a vehicle when the explosion occurred. In the same province, a bomb exploded in the Mafraq market in Baquba, killing a woman and wounding 14 others. Two more women were killed in an explosion on a farm north of the city, an Iraqi official said.

A bomb attack on a convoy south of the northern city of Mosul killed four contractors and wounded eight others, the American military said in a statement.

Riyadh Muhammad and Mohamed Hussein contributed reporting from Baghdad, and Iraqi employees of The New York Times from Baquba and Amara.