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WORLD> Middle East
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Thousands march in Baghdad against US pact
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-18 17:28 It must be approved by Iraq's parliament, and support is far from assured, even though Iraq won important concessions from Washington over the course of months of negotiations. US officials have yet to explain the pact in public, but Iraqi leaders have disclosed its contents. The pact commits the United States to end patrols of Iraqi streets by mid-2009 and withdraw fully from the country by the end of 2011 unless Iraq asks for them to stay, an apparent reversal for a US administration long opposed to deadlines. It also describes certain conditions under which Iraq would have the right to try US service members in its courts for serious crimes committed while off duty. In Washington, officials in the administration of President George W. Bush briefed members of Congress about the pact on Friday and sought reassure them that it protects US troops. "I think there is not reason to be concerned," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters, adding that top military brass were happy with the protections in the pact. |
