Iraqis: Deal close on plan for US troops to leave

It’s tempting, of course, to think of what might be about to go terribly wrong. But, nevertheless, it does seem like an incredible achievement. Everyone’s asking to remain anonymous, and the Iraqis are the only ones insisting that the dates have been set.

The key make-it-or-break-it issue appears to be the immunity one.

“The Iraqis also want American forces hand over any Iraqi they detain. The U.S. insists that detainees must be ‘ready’ for handover, which the Iraqi officials assume means the Americans want to interrogate them first.”

Perhaps interrogate should also be “in quotes”.

BAGHDAD – Iraq and the U.S. are near an agreement on all American combat troops leaving Iraq by October 2010, with the last soldiers out three years after that, two Iraqi officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. U.S. officials, however, insisted no dates had been agreed.

The proposed agreement calls for Americans to hand over parts of Baghdad’s Green Zone — where the U.S. Embassy is located — to the Iraqis by the end of 2008. It would also remove U.S. forces from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, according to the two senior officials, both close to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and familiar with the negotiations.

The officials, who spoke separately on condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing, said all U.S. combat troops would leave Iraq by October 2010, with the remaining support personnel gone “around 2013.” The schedule could be amended if both sides agree — a face-saving escape clause that would extend the presence of U.S. forces if security conditions warrant it.

Posted by microdot
What?