Agreement on U.S. withdrawal from Iraq said to be in peril as Maliki ousts negotiators
The Times is told that the prime minister has replaced the team with loyalists at the 'make-or-break' stage of talks on troop withdrawal. The two sides reportedly remain deadlocked.
BAGHDAD — At the "make-or-break" stage of talks on the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has swept aside his negotiating team and replaced it with loyalists, a reshuffle that some officials involved in the discussions warn risks sabotaging the agreement.
The decision on the team negotiating the pact, which the Americans have hailed as the basis of a long-term strategic alliance between the United States and Iraq, remains so sensitive it has not been announced publicly. In disclosing the switch to the Los Angeles Times this weekend, a senior Iraqi official close to Maliki also suggested that the two sides remain deadlocked on key issues.
When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Iraq recently, expectations rose that an agreement was imminent. But Iraq and the United States remain far apart on the matter of immunity for U.S. forces, the official said.
"People gave the impression we were close when Rice was here, but it's not over. We would have a serious problem right now," said the official, who like others for this report spoke on condition of anonymity. The official insisted that if U.S. troops remained exempt from Iraqi courts, the law would never pass Iraq's Parliament.
The sides are also still negotiating a withdrawal date for U.S. troops, the official said.
The latest version of the agreement, which was read to The Times by the Maliki confidant, says all U.S. forces will leave Iraq by the end of 2011, unless Iraq requests otherwise. The text also says the Americans will withdraw from cities in June 2009, unless the Iraqis ask them to stay.
The new wording marks a departure from the White House insistence on a conditions-based timeline for a U.S. withdrawal. Under the new language, Iraq, not the U.S. military, decides when the Americans will leave. U.S. officials have gone back to Washington to consult on the language, the Maliki confidant said.
Some Iraqi lawmakers have reacted angrily to the dismissal of the original negotiating team.
"These are diversionary tactics to avoid a decision. It's not a question of negotiating teams. It's a matter of, do you want it or don't you?" said an Iraqi familiar with the talks. "They are avoiding the issue. They don't want a status of forces agreement. They don't want a security agreement."
