A boy cycles in front of a U.S. armoured vehicle on patrol in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, October 20, 2008. Picture taken October 20, 2008.REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ)
U.S.-Iraq Negotiations Come Down To The Wire
-- Pajamas Media
-- Pajamas Media
The Status of Forces Agreement hangs in the balance — as does the future of Iraq.
Negotiations over the Status of Forces Agreement have reached a very difficult moment as time runs out quickly. Tension and an exchange of blunt statements and warnings have dominated the environment in the last few days. On the one hand, the Iraqi cabinet and many in the parliament rejected the final draft, demanding unspecified adjustments. On the other hand, the American administration largely rejected those demands and warned of the consequences of an Iraqi failure to ratify the agreement.
It appears that direct communications are not in their best shape, to the extent that the British commanders in Iraq are playing the moderator role between the Iraqi and American sides, according to state-owned Al-Sabah:
A parliamentary source said that Britain has become the moderator between Washington and the parliamentary powers. The source revealed that a meeting was held between Ali Adeeb of the UIA [United Iraqi Alliance] and the deputy commander of British forces, and lasted for an hour. This meeting was followed by another meeting [between the British commander] and members of the Accord Front and a third one with a number of other parliamentary powers.
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